From blood diamonds to EFC champ to UFC? How stars have aligned for Themba Gorimbo to try and fulfill UFC dream

Themba Gorimbo is doing everything he can to best position himself for a shot at the UFC.

Gorimbo (9-2), EFC’s welterweight champion, almost got that opportunity when he received the call for Dana White’s Contender Series in April. But struggles to obtain a U.S. visa forced the Zimbabwe-born fighter from South Africa to withdraw from the opportunity.

“On April 15, I received a message from my manager telling me Sean Shelby was looking to get me on the Contender Series this year,” Gorimbo told MMA Junkie. “Before I got my contract, I then got a message from Shelby stating that getting guys in for (Contender Series) without a visa has already become a challenge for them, and they have to stop bringing more guys. However, he stated that if anything changes, he will let me know.”

Gorimbo hasn’t competed since defending his title with a second-round submission of Lyle Karam in March 2020 at EFC 84. With his initial chance to punch his ticket to the UFC gone, Gorimbo has taken matters into his own hands by booking a flight and visa to Dubai and his efforts have already paid off.

Initially intending on serving as a backup fighter for UFC 267 in Abu Dhabi, Gorimbo has received the call to face Contender Series alum Ramazan Kurmagomedov (9-0) at UAE Warriors 24 on Oct. 29, a night UFC president Dana White is expected to be in attendance to film an episode of “Dana White: Lookin’ for a Fight.”

“This is the stars aligning for me to get into the UFC,” Gorimbo said. “Fighting in front of Dana White was something that was supposed to happen on the Contender Series, and I did not get a chance to because of the visa situation. I believe that the stars have aligned for me to win in an impressive fashion in front of Dana to earn my spot in the UFC.”

Gorimbo has a stern test ahead of him in unbeaten Kurmagomedov, who already notched a win on the Contender Series in 2019 against current UFC welterweight Jordan Williams, but it wasn’t enough to impress White. The Russian was also booked to face Alex Oliveira at UFC Fight Night 186 in February, but was forced to withdraw.

But despite all of Kurmagomedov’s experience on the big stage, Gorimbo is not intimidated.

“Ramzan is a great match for me,” Gorimbo said. “I looked him up and saw that he’s already been on the Contender Series and he won. He was booked to fight in the UFC and who knows what happened there, too. He is undefeated right now until I give him his first loss in MMA. I am a winner and I win.”

Gorimbo, 30, grew up in a village in the province of Masvingo and became an orphan after losing both his parents by the age of 13. He fled Zimbabwe in 2008 after a life of mining diamonds as a teenager and is now ready to use his story to inspire others on the big stage.

“At the tender age of 16, I became a diamond smuggler in the bloody diamonds of Marange, Zimbabwe just to get by and look after myself,” Gorimbo said. “Eventually smuggling diamonds had to be stopped by the government, and I almost got killed there, and I left Zimbabwe at the age of 17 for South Africa as a border jumper in search of a better life and opportunities. I’ve worked as a painter, security, and gardener here in South Africa while doing MMA on the road to becoming a champion.

“Ever since becoming a champion in EFC in 2019, I’ve been trying so hard to get a big opportunity in UFC, the best organization in the world. I have always visualized myself becoming a champion in the UFC. I believe if the pandemic didn’t happen, I would be in UFC now and climbing the ranks already because I am willing to fight everyone. Myself and my manager, we have been pushing on getting me in the UFC, but it’s currently hard to get in due to the visa issues all around the world.”