UFC star Paddy Pimblett and former welterweight title challenger Colby Covington had a not-so-friendly recent run-in at a Power Slap event.
Paddy Pimblett is weeks away from the biggest fight of his UFC career against Michael Chandler at UFC 314. While in Las Vegas for a pre-fight press conference to promote the upcoming card, Pimblett and Colby Covington briefly crossed paths after months of bad blood.
Pimblett and Chandler will clash in a five-round co-main event bout at UFC 314 next month. Pimblett returns to the cage for the first time since finishing King Green at UFC 304 last July.
Covington, who is plotting a UFC comeback after falling to Joaquin Buckley in December, is known to ruffle many feathers on the UFC roster. This includes Pimblett, who was especially critical of Covington for his pre-fight trash talk towards Leon Edwards as they shared the spotlight at UFC 304.
Paddy Pimblett, Colby Covington cross paths after years of online taunts
During a recent vlog uploaded to his YouTube channel, Pimblett explained how he and Covington crossed paths in Las Vegas.
“We ended up going to Power Slap Friday night…walked past Colby Covington, he stared at the floor,” Pimblett said. “Talks a big game online, s—s his undies in person.”
As of this writing, there isn’t publicized footage of Pimblett and Covington’s run-in at Power Slap 12. But it sounds like the two sides didn’t have much if anything to say to each other after their tense back-and-forths online.
Pimblett called for a welterweight clash with Covington just months ago, alluding to Covington being an undersized combatant at 170 lbs. In the same breath, he called out Conor McGregor, who hasn’t fought since injuring his leg against Dustin Poirier at UFC 264.
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Paddy Pimblett mocked Colby Covington’s former teammate’s decision to retire
Pimblett and Covington seem to have a common adversary in Poirier, who used to train with Covington at American Top Team-Florida before Covington’s exit. Pimblett recently called Poirier an ‘idiot’ for his decision to retire after one more appearance inside the Octagon.
Poirier is rumored to face Max Holloway for his retirement fight this summer, potentially in New Orleans. But as of this writing, nothing has been formally announced by the UFC.
Pimblett is out to earn credit and respect with a win over Chandler next month. A win would propel him into the lightweight title picture and move him one step closer to a showdown with UFC lightweight champion Islam Makhachev.
Poirier and Ilia Topuria are two names on Pimblett’s hit list should he defeat Chandler at UFC 314. Pimblett and Topuria nearly got into a full-on fistfight while sharing a card in London in 2022.
Pimblett is on the verge of UFC superstardom, a title he could claim with an emphatic performance against Chandler. But on the horizon, a potential clash with Covington is possible if both sides are interested.