Covington Wants Pimblett At UFC White House

Colby Covington is campaigning for a “USA vs. UK” showdown against Paddy Pimblett for the UFC White House card on June 14.

Following Pimblett’s interim lightweight title loss to Justin Gaethje on January 24, Covington has urged the Liverpudlian to move up to the 170-pound division. “The King of Chaos” argued that Pimblett’s “ballooning” weight—often reaching up to 195 lbs between camps—makes him a natural welterweight and would spare him the “brutal” cut to 155 lbs.

The animosity between the two has been brewing since UFC 314 in April 2025, when a backstage verbal spat in Miami saw Pimblett label Covington “Mr. Irrelevant.” For the 37-year-old Covington, this callout comes at a time when he is desperate to end the first two-fight losing streak of his career:

• Dec 2023: Lost a unanimous decision to Leon Edwards at UFC 296.
• Dec 2024: Lost via a bloody 3rd-round doctor’s stoppage to Joaquin Buckley at UFC Tampa, after a severe laceration over his right eye compromised his vision.
• The Goal: With his last victory being over Jorge Masvidal in early 2022, Covington is looking to bounce back. 

“(Pimblett’s) a big guy, he cuts a lot of weight. He probably weighs more than me at walk-around weight anyway, and may not want to keep going at 155lbs. So what’s the sense in Paddy going back to lightweight? There are no big fights for him now that he lost to Gaethje. I want to present that idea to the UFC — that, ‘Hey, me and Paddy, a British guy and a USA guy, on the White House lawn, would be amazing,” Covington said 

An Alternative

If that fight does not present itself, then Pimblett may have other options. He has been linked with a fight against Conor McGregor, who is expected to fight on the White House card. Conor is in training, as he looks for his first fight since losing to Dustin Poirier at UFC 264 in 2021. Meanwhile, Chael Sonnen has also suggested that Paddy could face the winner of Dan Hooker vs. Benoit Saint-Denis, who face off at UFC 325.

“By this time next week, Paddy will still be a star, and people will have forgotten that he lost. It’s a miss. There’s an opportunity right now for a 55 pounder to attach himself to Paddy ‘The Baddy’,” he said on his YouTube channel. “And I like the idea of Paddy, even coming off a loss. I like the idea of Paddy versus the winner… and you think I’m going to say [Arman] Tsarukyan. No. I like the idea of Paddy versus the winner of Saint-Denis and Hooker,” Sonnen stated