Stuck Between A ‘Rock’ And A Punch Face

Photo by: Daniel Delgado/NBC via Getty Images

This is your life! Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson has a special place in his heart for UFC welterweight Themba Gorimbo. The former WWE champion, who will make his in-ring return a…


Young Rock - Season 3
Photo by: Daniel Delgado/NBC via Getty Images

This is your life!

Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson has a special place in his heart for UFC welterweight Themba Gorimbo. The former WWE champion, who will make his in-ring return at WrestleMania XL this April in Philadelphia, gifted Gorimbo a house last year after learning the struggling MMA fighter was just a few dollars away from going broke.

Johnson has kept in touch with the South African fighter in the months that followed their initial meeting and even texted Gorimbo before his Pete Rodriguez fight ahead of the UFC Vegas 85 card last weekend at APEX in Las Vegas.

“You were born for this moment, brother. Best of luck today. God has blessed you.”

Gorimbo (12-4) won by first-round technical knockout and understands that no matter how much success he enjoys inside the Octagon, he may always be known as the fighter who was helped by “The Rock” in Miami.

Sounds like “The Answer” is okay with that connection.

“I cannot undo that, it’s a question that is there forever,” Gorimbo said. “I’m the guy that Dwayne Johnson bought a house in Miami, to be able to train fully without any stress — because he was once in that position. That connection is there forever. I can’t undo that. But, what I can do, is I can do my job in the cage. I can do my job in the gym, train hard, put my best foot forward every single day. I am forever gonna be that guy that was helped by ‘DJ’ to be in this position. I’m super grateful for it, forever, because someday I’m gonna do the same thing for somebody.”

Gorimbo, 33, is expected to make his UFC return later this year.