Paddy Pimblett made waves at UFC 314 in Miami’s Kaseya Center on April 12, 2025. Fresh off a third-round TKO victory over Michael Chandler in the co-main event, he got into a heated backstage argument with Colby Covington. The lightweight star didn’t hold back, unloading on Covington during the spat and later at the press conference. With his undefeated UFC record now at 7 wins, Pimblett’s focus is on bigger fights, but this clash stole headlines.
Two submission artists facing each other?? 👀
Paddy Pimblett wants @CharlesDoBronxs next! 😮💨
[ #UFC314 ] pic.twitter.com/G1BNdEjqD4
— UFC (@ufc) April 13, 2025
The fight and fallout
Pimblett dominated Chandler, stopping him at 3 minutes and 7 seconds of round three to cap a thrilling performance. As he spoke to ESPN MMA backstage, Covington walked by and started yelling.
“You’re fighting scrubs, guys are 2-6 [in the UFC],” Covington said, mocking Pimblett’s opponents.
Pimblett snapped back fast.
“I’ll come and slap you. I’ll slap you. Shut your head up,” he shouted.
Covington kept going, saying:
“You’re beating guys that are 2-6, remember that. You’re a scrub. You’re a fraud. You’d get fraud checked so quick.”
Pimblett laughed it off, hitting back with,
“Aren’t you on a three-fight losing streak? You little maggot?”
Their war of words needed security to step in, but it didn’t end there.
It got heated backstage between Colby Covington and Paddy Pimblett at #UFC314 👀 pic.twitter.com/4ag6DQ1uEK
— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) April 13, 2025
Pimblett’s fiery response
At the post fight event, Pimblett ripped into Covington. “Oh yeah, this little maggot,” he told ESPN MMA .
“He only does something when there’s a camera about. I’ve seen him at Power Slap the other week and walked past him staring at him and he looked at the floor like that.”
He kept swinging.
“Now, he knows there’s a camera about. He walked past, so I just said, ‘Lad, I’ll come and slap you, but you’ll go and ring the police on me like you did with Masvidal, you little grass [snitch].’”
Pimblett doubled down.
“He can eat shit,” he said. “He pays supermodels to stand with him, the f*cking bum. He’s a nobody. He’s on a three-fight losing streak or something, he’s irrelevant.”
He dismissed Covington’s relevance.
“He’s trying to use me now to stay relevant because he’s a nobody, he’s a bum. I’d beat Colby Covington for a laugh, but I’ve got bigger fish to fry than that little mushroom.”
Pimblett also eyed bigger names.
“There’s also Conor McGregor, we saw him put a bet on Michael Chandler,” he said. “With the Scouse-Irish connection, you’re meant to back your own, so if he wants his head punched in when he comes back, I’m game to beat McGregor up.”
This wasn’t their first run-in. Pimblett called out Covington’s trash talk before, including his comments about Leon Edwards’ late father in 2023. Covington, who last fought in December 2024, losing to Joaquin Buckley, has won only two of his last six fights.
Pimblett’s win over Chandler sets up potential fights with Charles Oliveira or Justin Gaethje. His feud with Covington feels personal, not practical, due to their weight class difference. Still, this heated exchange keeps both names in the spotlight.
