Pimblett extended his unbeaten record in the UFC by stopping Michael Chandler at UFC 314 – but he was then involved in a heated altercation with Colby Covington backstage
Paddy Pimblett, fresh from his victory over Michael Chandler at UFC 314, almost found himself in another brawl just moments later.
‘The Baddy’ maintained his flawless UFC record by defeating the ex-Bellator lightweight world champion. The 30-year-old dominated the highly-anticipated dust-up from start to finish. Chandler did manage to do well in the wrestling exchanges early on, but it wasn’t enough to seriously challenge Pimblett.
The lightweight star was relentless with his attacks, particularly his leg kicks. As they entered the third round, Pimblett could tell that Chandler was getting tired. He quickly took the American MMA veteran down and unleashed a flurry of punches that led the referee to call off the fight.
However, the drama didn’t end there. Shortly after his win, Pimblett found himself in a backstage face-off with former interim welterweight champion Colby Covington. The Brit was in the middle of an interview when ‘Chaos’ started taunting him. The American repeatedly criticised the Liverpudlian for consistently fighting opponents who are on losing streaks.
Covington was quick to storm into the media area to square up to the Brit. As security quickly stepped in to try and separate the pair, Pimblett shouted: “I’ll slap you”. The Liverpool native couldn’t resist a cheeky swipe at his rival by asking: “Aren’t you on a three-fight losing streak?” As Covington was led away by security, ‘The Baddy’ roared with laughter, while pointing in the American’s face and calling him a “little maggot”.
Previously, Pimblett has shown keen interest in moving up to welterweight specifically to take on Covington. They’ve been sparring verbally online since, though Pimblett mocked Covington for being silent when they met at a Power Slap event. Detailing the encounter, ‘The Baddy’ boasted in a YouTube video he posted last month: “Walked past Colby Covington, he stared at the floor. Talks a big game online, s***s his undies in person.”
But the night belonged to ‘The Baddy’ at UFC 314, who walked away with yet another commendable victory. In the aftermath of his triumph, Pimblett reflected: “Lad, literally everything I have worked with my team, all the fight run-throughs we’ve done, has just happened here.
“This is how we win: we gameplan, we use our fight IQ, and we beat motherf*****s up. [I want] anyone in the top four, top five. I want that world title. Laugh all you want. What now? You gang of mushrooms. I want Dustin [Poirier], Justin [Gaethje], Charles [Oliveira] or the little posh boy Arman [Tsarukyan] – any of them four. I respect Dustin, Justin and Charles. Charles is the biggest legend out of them all, and he gets called the best submitting artist the UFC’s ever seen. Well, I dispute that, I’m here.”
