‘No more sleeping on the couch’: Dwayne Johnson surprises UFC fighter with new house
MIAMI – American actor Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson recently surprised budding Zimbabwean mixed martial arts fighter Themba Gorimbo with a gift of a new house in Miami.
Johnson, 51, shared on Instagram that he was inspired to act after learning that Gorimbo had only US$7.49 (S$10) to his name.
Gorimbo had sold off his fight gear and sent most of his Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) earnings back home to Zimbabwe so that the community could build a water well. To save money to get his own place and to bring his family over to America, he had been sleeping on a couch in the training gym.
Johnson said he, too, once had only US$7 in his wallet before his rise to pro wrestling star and becoming a Hollywood bigwig. His production company is called Seven Bucks Production.
In a video shared by the actor, the 32-year-old UFC welterweight fighter leapt to his feet when Johnson surprised him at the gym. A huge fan of the action star, Gorimbo was moved to tears at seeing Johnson in person.
Johnson drove Gorimbo to a house, pretending that he wanted to introduce the fighter to a friend. When a puzzled Gorimbo noticed some photos of him and his family in the house, Johnson said with a big smile: “Themba, I don’t know anybody who lives here. I wanted to look you in the eye, and I want to tell you, ‘Welcome home.’”
Johnson then handed a set of keys to the fighter, who fell to his knees and embraced the actor. “Now there’s no more couch sleeping, this is your house,” Johnson said in the video.
“You and your family enjoy your new house, brother,” the actor wrote on Instagram. “Lights are on. Bills are paid. Keep taking care of your people, and I’m honoured to play a very, very small role in your $7 journey.”
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