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▲ Temba Gorimbo (right) announces his retirement.
[SPOTV News=Reporter Kim Geon-il] UFC welterweight Temba Gorimbo unexpectedly announced his retirement.
Gorimbo, who had lost three straight fights in the Octagon, officially announced on the 22nd (Korean time) via his social media that he is stepping away from competition.
Gorimbo wrote, “I thank the UFC and everyone. I wanted to become someone and achieve something, but I failed. I gave everything to this sport. Now I’m leaving.”
“My dream was to become a UFC champion. If I can’t reach that dream, I believe it’s right to step away. It wasn’t an easy decision, but I did my best,” he added.
“I might return someday as a coach or manager. For now, though, I’ll focus on my family. I’m grateful to everyone I met on this journey and to those who helped me. I am officially retiring from MMA,” he wrote.
The Zimbabwe native joined the UFC in 2023. He lost his debut to A.J. Fletcher, but his personal story quickly drew attention from fight fans around the world.
After his first UFC win, Gorimbo revealed he had only $7 (approximately 9,333 KRW) left in his bank account, a disclosure that captured headlines. Facing severe financial hardship, he auctioned off his fight kit and said he planned to use the proceeds to fund a well in his hometown in Zimbabwe.
The story even reached actor and TKO Holdings board member Dwayne Johnson.
A well-known fight fan, Johnson learned Gorimbo had been living in a gym storage room and gifted him a house in Florida. Overcome with emotion, Gorimbo thanked him in tears, and he appeared to be on the rise again with a four-fight winning streak in the UFC.
But at UFC 310 last year, Gorimbo suffered a 52-second submission loss to Vicente Luque, and he was unable to halt the slide afterward.
At the May card in Perth, Australia, he dropped a split decision to Jonathan Michalef, extending the skid to three straight losses.
Ultimately, Gorimbo concluded a championship run was no longer realistic and chose to retire. He finishes his career with a 14–7 record overall and went 4–4 in the UFC.
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