One UFC welterweight contender has decided to hang up his gloves after suffering his third-straight loss earlier this month.
With no UFC event scheduled for this weekend in between UFC Vegas 117 and the promotion’s return to Macau next Saturday, some of the biggest UFC-related headlines this week include the decision to release #5-ranked women’s bantamweight contender Ketlen Vieira and three other fighters following their fights at UFC Vegas 117.
Those four names apparently won’t be the only ones removed from the official UFC roster in the near future, as welterweight contender Themba Gorimbo has also announced that he’s retiring from MMA.
Themba Gorimbo Retires From Fighting After 8-Fight UFC Run
Taking to Instagram, Gorimbo shared a lengthy post explaining his decision to retire and informed fans that he intends to remain active in MMA as a coach and manager.
The 35-year-old also made sure to thank UFC matchmaker Sean Shelby and Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, who famously bought Gorimbo a house after the Zimbabwean fighter said the he had only $7 dollars in his bank account during a post-fight interview in 2023.
“Mamba” Won Four-Straight Fights After Dropping UFC Debut
Ending his MMA career with a 14-7 record, Gorimbo turned pro in 2013 following a brief two-fight amateur career where he went 1-1.
“Mamba” began his pro career with five-straight wins before coming up short in a lightweight title fight with top South African MMA promotion EFC. Moving up to 170 lbs., Gorimbo eventually worked his way back to an EFC title shot and claimed the welterweight belt from Luke Michael in 2019 and went on to defend it against the formerly-undefeated Lyle Karam the following year.
A move to UAE Warriors saw Gorimbo suffer a loss to PFL veteran Handesson Ferreira before he joined Fury FC and defeated Julio Rodrigues, which was enough to earn him a call to join the UFC in 2023. After being submitted in his promotional debut, the 35-year-old went on a four-fight win streak that included a 32-second knockout of Pete Rodriguez.
That winning run earned him a step up in competition against longtime welterweight staple Vicente Luque, who submitted “Mamba” to kick off what eventually became a three-fight skid after Gorimbo dropped a decision to Jeremiah Wells and also came up short on the scorecards when he met Jonathan Micallef at UFC Perth earlier this month.
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