WATCH: The Rock gifts Zimbabwean UFC fighter a house in the US

Former wrestler and now Hollywood actor The Rock surprised US-based UFC fighter Themba Gorimbo with a house after the African auctioned his fighting kit, using the proceeds to build a bush pump in his village in Zimbabwe.

A long-time standout on the MMA scene of his adopted country of South Africa, Gorimbo began fighting in 2010 after seeing the film Never Back Down and by 2013 he was pro.

The sacrifice Gorimbo made for his fellow citizens to provide clean water for them and sharing that he only had $7.49 (R141.31) to his account made him trend on social media which got Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson’s attention.

The $7 is particularly special to Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson who has previously shared that he’s also been in a situation where he only had $7  to his name after being cut from the Canadian Football League’s Calgary Stampeders.

Man of hope

Gorimbo, whose first name means hope, has been living proof of his name. His mother died when he was nine years old, his father four years later and had to resort to illegal mining.

“We were not allowed to dig these diamonds, but we did it anyway,” Gorimbo told the UFC website. “I was always a lucky guy, not just lucky, but I was taking risks to go to the deep areas where it’s dangerous and I always came out with diamonds. I had luck for diamonds.”

His time in the US hasn’t been easy, having to squat on people’s couches and not able to live together with his family.

“Money is not something that drives me,” he said. “For me, what drives me is setting goals and going after them, taking risks and taking chances and becoming what I know I’m destined to be.

“I will become a champion in 2024. That’s my goal. And yeah, I just put it out there. I will become a champion in the UFC by the end of 2024. I know this.”

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