Paddy Pimblett reveals what ‘whopper’ UFC rival Colby Covington did earlier than backstage conflict
Having taken over Miami quicker than Tony Montana, leaving his opponent scarfaced, Paddy Pimblett now believes ‘the world is his’.
The Liverpool lightweight produced the performance of his career at UFC 314 to TKO Michael Chandler in the third round of their co-main event at the Kaseya Centre, winning over the Florida crowd and any remaining doubters as to his title credentials.
In Pimblett’s case his ‘little friend’ proved a flying knee that badly split Chandler’s cheek just below his left eye before ground and pound forced the referee to step in. Having now amassed a perfect 7-0 record in the UFC, the Scouse scrapper believes some respect must now be put on his name.
He said: “Everyone underestimates me before every fight. No one ever gives me my dues. It is quite annoying, it p***** me off. I know after this fight that it is just going to be, ‘Oh, Chandler was 2-4 in the UFC, Chandler was washed, he is 38’.
“Whereas before the fight everyone was saying I was going to get knocked out. And what happened? I TKO’d him.
(Image: Getty Images)
“His face has never looked that bad and he’s fought Charles (Oliveira) twice, Dustin (Poirier) and Justin (Gaethje).
“His face was absolutely mashed up – he has got two great big dirty gashes. It looked like he had been hit by a f****** machete.”
Having finished business in style inside the octagon, Pimblett nearly got into a second clash backstage with Miami’s own king of controversy Colby Covington, though the Brit was quick to dismiss the threat of the fading star.
(Image: Getty Images)
Pimblett added: “It was Mr Irrelevant trying to stay relevant, the f****** whopper.
“He just came over and started chatting s***. He saw that there was a camera and so he came over and said, ‘Oh you fight scrubs’. He said something about Chandler being 2-4 or something. Isn’t he 2-4 in his last six (fights)?
“He’s an absolute bum, he’s nearly 40 and he’s trying to stay relevant by jumping on me while there’s a camera there.
(Image: AP)
“I saw him at Power Slap the other week. I walked past him staring at him and he just looked at the floor, but when there’s a camera there he tries to say something.”
Former lightweight king Oliveira this summer in Abu Dhabi looks more like the final step towards a title tilt for the 30-year-old.
He added: “I want to be a world champion. I’ve always said that I am going to be a world champion and to beat a former champion like Charles Olivera, who gets called the best submission artist the UFC’s ever seen… I’d love to go up against that because I think I’ve got better submissions than Charles.”
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