Paddy Pimblett drew rave reviews from one of Colby Covington’s enemies after their UFC 314 run-in.
UFC lightweight contender Paddy Pimblett earned the biggest win of his career at UFC 314 last Saturday in Miami. He finished Michael Chandler inside three rounds, and left the fellow UFC fan favorite battered and bloodied in the Octagon as he continued his ascent up the rankings.
Pimblett’s stock has never been higher in his UFC career after defeating Chandler. He called out a slew of top contenders after his UFC 314 victory, including former titleholders Justin Gaethje and Charles Oliveira.
As Pimblett basked in the glory of his victory, he came face-to-face with Colby Covington, who had traded barbs with him for weeks.
Ian Machado Garry reacts to Colby Covington’s new feud with Paddy Pimblett
Tensions boiled over between Pimblett and Covington backstage at UFC 314. In a clip you can watch below, security personnel separated Pimblett and Covington before any physical altercation could’ve played out.
One of Covington’s longtime foes believes Pimblett handled the former title challenger’s verbal assault perfectly.
During a recent appearance on The Ariel Helwani Show, Ian Machado Garry reacted to the Covington/Pimblett altercation.
“Firstly, [Colby] just chats out of his a–, and Paddy said it perfectly at the press conference. Mr. Irrelevant, just trying to stay relevant,” Garry said of Pimblett.
“The guy’s been running for so long, he doesn’t want to fight, he’s not a fighter at heart. He’ll do anything he possibly can to pick on the guy with the biggest potential or the biggest star, go after him to try to get some clout.
“I think Paddy dealt with it like a professional, and I think Paddy looked amazing, came out in that fight, with the biggest performance of his life,” Garry continued. “Did everything right, and I think having someone come up and shout at you and try to tear you down from that moment, it’s really low. And I think Paddy dealt with it very, very well.”
Garry and Covington were briefly linked to a potential clash last year ahead of UFC 303, but the fight didn’t come to fruition. Garry went on to defeat Michael ‘Venom’ Page at UFC 303, while Covington lost to Joaquin Buckley in his most recent fight at UFC Tampa in December.
Garry has since turned the page on potentially facing Covington in the Octagon. He’s set to face Carlos Prates later this month at UFC Kansas City, as he looks to avenge his first-career loss to Shavkat Rakhmonov at UFC 310.
It got heated backstage between Colby Covington and Paddy Pimblett at #UFC314 👀 pic.twitter.com/4ag6DQ1uEK
— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) April 13, 2025
Ian Machado Garry reignites Colby Covington beef ahead of UFC Kansas City return
Pimblett and Covington crossed paths at a Power Slap event last month, but the two sides were tranquil towards each other while in attendance. That has since changed, as Covington ramped up trash talk and ‘fraud’ allegations towards Pimblett.
Pimblett teased welterweight matchups with Conor McGregor and Covington last year, but neither fight came to fruition. McGregor recently lost out on $500,000 thanks to Pimblett’s win at UFC 314.
While the ship might’ve sailed on Garry vs. Covington coming to fruition, their feud remains as heated as ever. As for Pimblett, his feud with Covington is just getting started.
