Paddy Pimblett Reacts to Backstage Confrontation with Colby Covington at UFC 314

It got heated backstage between Colby Covington and Paddy Pimblett at #UFC314 👀 pic.twitter.com/4ag6DQ1uEK

— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) April 13, 2025

After earning the biggest win of his career to date, Paddy Pimblett found himself in a confrontation with an outspoken critic from another weight class.

As Pimblett was conducting an interview backstage at the Kaseya Center in Miami, he was approached by UFC welterweight Colby Covington, who blasted the Englishman’s level of competition in the Octagon.

“You’re fighting scrubs,” Covington said in a video captured by ESPN. “Guys who are 2-6. You’re a bum. You beat guys who are 2-6, remember that. Remember that, you’re a scrub. ... You’re a fraud.”

Pimblett secured his seventh straight triumph on Saturday night, defeating Michael Chandler via third-round technical knockout in the UFC 314 co-main event. After the victory, “The Baddy” targeted matchups against the likes of Charles Oliveira, Justin Gaethje and Arman Tsarukyan — all fighters near the top of the lightweight division. He appeared to be most interested in a showdown with Oliveira, a former 155-pound champ and the promotion’s all-time submission leader.

Exactly where Covington fits in that picture is unclear. The former welterweight title challenger has lost three of his last four Octagon appearances and is coming off a third-round doctor stoppage loss to Joaquin Buckley at UFC on ESPN 63 this past December.

During the ESPN post-fight show, Pimblett indicated that Covington’s tirade was all for show.

“Oh yeah, this little maggot,” Pimblett said. “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. 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 [Jorge] Masvidal, you little grass [snitch].

While it’s possible that Covington could be angling for a fight against Pimblett, the former Cage Warriors title holder is more concerned about climbing the ladder in the UFC’s lightweight division.

“He can eat s—t. He pays supermodels to stand with him, the f—ing bum. He’s a nobody,” Pimblett said. “He’s on a three-fight losing streak or something, he’s irrelevant. 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.”