Paddy Pimblett blasts Colby Covington and 'cringy' Henry Cejudo for 'putting on stupid personas'

Paddy Pimblett has expressed his dislike for fighters whom he believes put on 'stupid personas. Pimblett cited Colby Covington and Henry Cejudo as examples, claiming that they put on fake personas as a way of self-promotion.

Be it Covington’s sudden change from a relatively humble UFC welterweight to the trash-talking showman he is today or Henry Cejudo going from an Olympic gold-medalist to ‘The King of Cringe’, Pimblett seemingly dislikes the sudden change.

Speaking to SPORTbible, Pimblett stated:

“Lad, I hate all of that, you know. All people who, like – Colby Covington, prime example for me; putting that WWE persona on. I heard he’s got a ghostwriter and all that, lad. Yeah, he needs to turn it in him, lad. Like, even Henry Cejudo, lad, the little cringey b**tard. He used to do my head in, lad. He done my head in when he became champion and that because of how annoying he was. People like that just wind me up. Just be yourself, lad. Stop putting on a stupid persona, and just be yourself."

Paddy Pimblett, Colby Covington, and Henry Cejudo are at different stages of their careers

Paddy Pimblett (left); Luigi Vendramini (right)

Paddy Pimblett competed in his very first UFC fight this year. Pimblett made his highly-anticipated UFC debut at UFC Fight Night: Brunson vs. Till on September 4th, 2021. ‘The Baddy’ faced Luigi Vendramini in a lightweight bout at the event.

Pimblett made a huge statement by securing a spectacular first-round KO win against Vendramini. Paddy Pimblett is now being touted by many as a potential future superstar and major box office draw for the UFC.

Meanwhile, Colby Covington is a former interim UFC welterweight champion. Covington’s most recent fight was a fifth-round TKO win over Tyron Woodley at UFC Fight Night: Covington vs. Woodley in September 2020.

Covington is set to face reigning UFC welterweight champion Kamaru Usman in a rematch with Usman’s title on the line at UFC 268 on November 6, 2021.

Meanwhile, Henry Cejudo is a former UFC flyweight and bantamweight champion. The King of Cringe’s last fight was a second-round TKO win in a UFC bantamweight title bout against Dominick Cruz at UFC 249 in May of 2020.

Cejudo announced his retirement from MMA after this fight. Despite hinting at a comeback on multiple occasions, he is yet to officially return to active MMA competition.