UFC star Themba Gorimbo: from diamond fields to The Rock

Zimbabwean UFC fighter Themba Gorimbo tells Sportshour’s Caroline Barker how his story of struggle led Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson to buy him a house. As a 16-year-old, Gorimbo became a self-confessed diamond thief in the dangerous fields of Marange following the death of both of his parents. He then moved to South Africa and took up mixed martial arts before landing a contract with the UFC. Facing a must win fight, Gorimbo woke up with flu and after buying medicine was left with just seven dollars in the bank. He won the fight and a screenshot he posted of his bank account led to a meeting with “The Rock”. Estonian open water swimmer Merle Liivand chats to us about breaking world records, collecting garbage from the ocean as she swims and being thought of as a real-life mermaid. And - we hear why it has been a significant week for the Marshall Islands on the road to having a national football team, from their technical director, Lloyd Owers. Image: Themba Gorimbo steps on the scale for the official weigh-in at the UFC Apex for UFC Vegas 73 - Dern vs Hill - weigh-ins on May 19, 2023, at the Sante Fe Station Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas, NV. (Photo by Louis Grasse/PxImages/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)