Colby Covington has found himself in a new rivalry.
The often outspoken welterweight veteran made his presence felt backstage at UFC 314 this past Saturday at the Kaseya Center in Miami when he had a verbal exchange with Paddy Pimblett. Covington and Pimblett traded words, with Covington casting doubt on the caliber of Pimblett`s opponents. The British fighter retorted by highlighting Covington`s recent losses.
Pimblett competed in the UFC 314 co-main event, delivering a dominant performance against Michael Chandler, culminating in a third-round TKO. This victory improved his UFC record to 7-0.
In a subsequent interview with ESPN, Pimblett dismissed Covington as “irrelevant,” prompting Covington to issue a response through his YouTube channel.
“Paddy decided to talk trash as I walked by, so I had to confront him,” Covington stated. “I needed to make it clear that he`s a little `b*tch boy`. If you examine the combined losing streak of his last three opponents, it totals 13 consecutive losses. He tries to portray himself as relevant and a star, but he`s frankly a nobody. He`s never headlined a major event, never achieved anything significant, and has never been a top contender. He`s just a scrub.”
“The only reason anyone pays attention to him is because he resembles Ellen DeGeneres and, frankly, it`s his bowl haircut and English accent that attract any interest.”
Covington`s calculation about the losing streaks of Pimblett`s recent opponents (Chandler, Tony Ferguson, and King Green) is accurate in terms of their current records. However, it`s worth noting that at the time they faced Pimblett, Chandler was on a two-fight losing streak, Ferguson had lost six in a row, and Green was actually coming off a win. Nevertheless, Covington`s point remains valid that while Pimblett`s opponents are well-known names, they haven`t been very successful in recent fights.
Interestingly, Covington failed to mention that his own recent victories (against Jorge Masvidal and former UFC champions Tyron Woodley and Robbie Lawler) were also against fighters on two-fight losing streaks when they fought him. Masvidal hasn`t won since 2019, and Woodley since 2018. Covington, a former interim UFC welterweight champion, has himself suffered two consecutive losses and three in his last four fights. His last win was against Masvidal in March 2022.
Regardless of the statistics, Covington`s animosity towards Pimblett is evident. If “The Baddy” decides to move up to the welterweight division of 170 pounds in the future, Covington is ready to face him.
“Paddy Pimblett is a `b*tch`,” Covington reiterated. “He needs to stop using my name to stay relevant because he hasn`t accomplished anything on his own. He`ll never reach a title fight, let alone win a title. He`s an irrelevant bum.”
“So, when he stops cutting excessive weight and comes up to a real man`s weight class to fight a real man, he can get beaten. He should keep my name out of his mouth, or he`ll face the consequences.”
