Story by Lawrence Trusida, Sports Editor
THE country’s reigning Sports Person of the Year Themba Gorimbo suffered a second-round defeat in his Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) debut against America’s Ashton Fletcher on Sunday.
Gorimbo finally made the step up to the pinnacle of mixed martial arts, the Ultimate Fighting Championship after dominating the Extreme Fighting Championships (EFC) in the welterweight division.
The Zimbabwean signed for UFC last year after impressing in EFC and subsequently got the invite to the Fury Fighting Championship in the USA where he beat Brazilian Julio Rodrigues via unanimous decision earning him the rights to UFC.
In his first fight in UFC, Gorimbo affectionately known as The Answer suffered a second-round submission to Ashton Fletcher.
Zimbabwe’s reigning Sportsperson of the Year used his reach advantage in the early stages to land some good shots, but Fletcher quickly closed the gap.
After a reversal off his back, Fletcher gained control and landed some hard elbows on Gorimbo.
The UFC newcomer survived to see the second round, but when he shot in for a takedown early in the frame, Fletcher locked up the guillotine choke and spoiled Gorimbo’s UFC debut at Vegas 69.
