UFC Fight Night 263: Themba Gorimbo full media day interview
UFC Fight Night 263’s Themba Gorimbo spoke to MMA Junkie and reporters at media day for his welterweight bout vs. Jeremiah Wells
LAS VEGAS – Themba Gorimbo has regrets.
It’s been 11 months since the Zimbabwean UFC welterweight stepped foot in the cage and there are reasons for that. Last seen competing in a quick loss to Vicente Luque, Gorimbo (14-5 MMA, 4-2 UFC)) revealed Wednesday he fought in the bout severely compromised – so much so that doctors told him before the bout that he should not fight.
“I broke my ankle a week before I took that fight,” Gorimbo told MMA Junkie and other reporters Wednesday. “I broke my ankle on Nov. 11. I took that fight on Nov. 17. I went against the doctors. I’m a hard head and rebellious sometimes.”
Gorimbo admits his stubbornness contributed to his undoing. While he didn’t want to take anything away from Luque, he explained that his training for the bout was not to the level it should’ve been.
“On the day of the fight after I lost, I cried at T-Mobile like no other because I was regretting the decision of taking the fight,” Gorimbo said. “Because when I stepped in the cage with Luque, when he stood across from me, I knew I was not ready. But it was too late. I had to fight. I said to myself, ‘Today, I cannot.’ Because my style, sometimes I wrestle, right? I knew that I had not wrestled. I didn’t do any sparring. Anybody that knows, you can ask the coach that I was with here in Vegas and everybody I was training with in Vegas and the P.I., I went against the P.I. doctors.
“The doctors told me, ‘This is bad. You cannot fight with it, but it’s up to you. It’s your decision. You are the fighter. You can only go out there and fight if you want, but our recommendation, don’t fight. Don’t take this fight. You don’t have to take this fight.’ I went against them and I learned the lesson the hard way. I cried at T-Mobile, went home, got depressed, went to Russia for a week, not making the right decisions, came back, and here we are in America. I’m blessed and look at me.”
Following the loss, Gorimbo said he went back home, and then to Russia. He wasn’t taking care of himself. Then, one day before his next UFC offer, Gorimbo suffered a broken rib. The secondary injury delayed his return five more months, but Saturday, he finally returns when he battles Jeremiah Wells (12-4-1 MMA, 4-2 UFC), a fighter he’s long respected.
“He’s been in the UFC longer than I have been,” Gorimbo said. “I remember watching him fight my countryman ‘Blood Diamond’ Mike Mathetha a long time ago. I wanted to be in the UFC, so I was following my countryman, Mike Mathetha. Shoutout to him. (Wells) won that fight. It was a long time ago and I was not expecting to be in the UFC then. By the grace of God, I’m here. He’s a good fighter. If you want me to answer that, I will not take away anything from my opponent. Because if I do that, that means I’m under estimating him. I give him his props. He’s a good fighter. But on Saturday, we’ll see.”
