‘I’ve been there’ – The Rock offers to help broke UFC prospect who had $7.49 in the bank before latest fight
Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson has offered to help a struggling UFC prospect.
On Saturday, the Hollywood superstar reacted to the story of Themba Gorimbo following his unanimous decision win over Takashi Sato in May.
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Ahead of his second UFC fight, Gorimbo revealed that he had just $7.49 (£5.95) in the bank and was only able to get by with a little help from Colby Covington, who trains with him at MMA Masters in Miami.
“Colby Covington, he is such a great guy, man. Colby Covington sometimes would bring food for me at the gym,” he revealed post-fight at UFC Vegas 73.
"People say what they say and want to avoid him, but that guy’s a great man. You have to know him to kind of know him. Just like me. You know, at the end of the day, it’s business.”
After getting his show and win money, Gorimbo took to social media to celebrate being in a better financial situation and thank the UFC for helping him get there.
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“This was the money left i had before the fight and now God granted me a good win and it’s going to be a great one going forward,” he tweeted.
“If it wasn’t for the free UFC I started to receive after I signed the fight i would probably be singing a different story. Grateful.”
A few weeks later, The Rock stumbled across his tweet and resonated with his story before seemingly offering to sponsor the 11-4 fighter.
“This is f’n crazy to see and brings back many emotions and memories,” Johnson wrote.
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“$7.49 in this fighter’s bank account. I once had $7 bucks too. I’ve been there on that grind. Got your back, brother. I’ll help. You got this. I’ll be in touch.”
“Bless you brother. God’s work,” Gorimbo replied.
The Rock, who is thought to be worth $800 million [£636m], is a massive UFC fan who got the chance to make Jorge Masvidal the inaugural BMF champion when he beat Nate Diaz in November 2019.
However, he has faced some backlash for linking up with the UFC for a shoe deal that doesn’t financially benefit the fighters despite the fact they are obligated to wear Project Rock footwear during fight-week events.
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Logan Paul and KSI faced similar backlash after PRIME became the official drink of the UFC, but they reacted by sponsoring UFC champions Israel Adesanya and Alexander Volkanovski.
It appears Gorimbo will become the first UFC athlete sponsored by Johnson.
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