MMA
Colby Covington Targets UFC White House Card and Potential Bout with Paddy Pimblett
Colby Covington is entering the twilight of his 13-year MMA career, and things haven’t been going his way. The former interim welterweight champion is on a two-fight skid, suffering back-to-back losses to Leon Edwards and Joaquin Buckley, and has now come up short in three separate title bids at 170 pounds. At 37, the road back to contention looks steeper than ever. Covington’s last outing came in December 2024, where a doctor’s stoppage handed him a third-round TKO loss to Buckley. Since then, no fight has been booked, but that hasn’t stopped ‘Chaos’ from plotting his next move, and his dream opponent isn’t even in his weight class.
Colby Covington Calls Paddy Pimblett a Weight Bully and Challenges Him at Welterweight
Covington has his sights set on Paddy Pimblett, calling for a showdown with the Liverpudlian at the UFC’s first-ever event on the South Lawn of the White House. The mega outing is scheduled for 4th July 2026, to mark America’s 250th anniversary. Moreover, Dana White recently confirmed that the historic card is officially in the works.
Looking to get back in action sooner, Covington told Helen Yee Sports he’s aiming for a fall return: “I’ve been talking to Hunter Campbell, and we’re looking for October or November. Maybe November (UFC 322) at the Garden. But wherever Hunter decides, and the UFC, I’ll be ready.”
Covington clarified that he wants to get back to action as soon as possible, “If they need to push me to December, the T-Mobile event (UFC 323), then December in Vegas sounds good, but I want to get in there as soon as possible on a full training camp. I didn’t get a training camp last fight, so full training camp. Bring anybody in the world. I’m ready to go. Let’s go Hunter and UFC.”
But despite saying anybody in the world, Covington made it clear who he really wants next: “The Paddy Pimblett fight super interests me because in Miami [at UFC 314], he was talking sh*t, running his mouth backstage. I wasn’t even looking at him, or talking to him, and he wants to start some sh*t,” Covington said.
The former interim welterweight kingpin didn’t hold back, even mocking Pimblett’s well-known weight-cutting struggles during his Cage Warriors days: “He’s been saying some shit. He was saying in an interview the other day, his doctor said he had liver failure from cutting to 155. Dude, come up a weight class. Come up to 170. Why are you being a weight-bully, Paddy?”
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The Clovis native concluded his rant with some scathing insults, “You’re a bum. You’re a gimmick. Your little English accent and your bowl cut. That’s the only reason people know you, so let’s get it going, Paddy.”
The animosity between the two dates back to UFC 314 in April, when Pimblett dominated Michael Chandler in Miami and clashed with Covington backstage. Covington accused Pimblett of “fighting scrubs” and warned he would soon get fraud checked. The verbose Englishman fired back, calling him “Mr. Irrelevant” and vowing to punch his face in.
Now, Covington is lobbying hard to make the fight happen, ideally on the UFC’s blockbuster White House card next year. “I feel like I deserve to fight there, but obviously, it’s up to the UFC and what they decide. Please, Dana, let me fight on the White House card. I know [Donald] Trump asked you to let me on the White House card, please, Dana, please.”
Dec 14, 2024; Tampa, Florida, UNITED STATES; Colby Covington (red gloves) fights Joaquin Buckley (blue gloves) at Amalie Arena. Mandatory Credit: Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images
It remains to be seen whether Covington will secure a spot on the historic White House card, especially with marquee names like Conor McGregor already in the mix. As for a showdown with Pimblett, the timing appears complicated.
The Liverpudlian is reportedly focused on a potential lightweight title clash with Ilia Topuria following their heated exchange during the UFC 317 post-fight interview. Add to that Covington’s career being in its twilight, and many believe a matchup against the surging English star might be a tough and potentially unfavorable outing for the veteran from Clovis.
