Conor McGregor says Heat mascot is doing 'good' after taking punch in Game 4
The Miami Heat may have gotten throttled by the Denver Nuggets in the 2023 NBA Finals, but there is some good news for the franchise. UFC legend Conor McGregor says the Miami Heat mascot–Burnie–is ok after taking a very vicious punch from the UFC superstar during a halftime stunt in Game 4 of the NBA Finals. It was supposed to be a joke, but apparently McGregor put a little too much juice into the second right hand punch.
In case you haven’t seen the video yet, here’s the video that was posted by Front Office Sports on Twitter.
For more, check out the report below from On3’s Jonathan Howard.
For whatever reason, the Miami Heat thought it would be a good idea to have McGregor punch their mascot, Burnie. Well, it wasn’t a good idea as the person in the costume was sent to the hospital on Friday night.
Promoting his new pain relief spray, Conor McGregor was supposed to rough up Burnie. The mascot had boxing gloves donned and was ready to fight the Irish MMA icon.
According to Sam Amick of The Athletic, the man in the mascot costume was given pain meds by a doctor and was sent home. He is “doing well.”
If I had to guess, I’d say it was the second punch from McGregor here that did it.
The whole thing was supposed to be a little comedic relief for the Miami Heat fans in attendance. Burnie came out and looked confident. Then he was on the ground getting dragged away as Conor McGregor sprayed him with whatever new product he’s come out with.
McGregor has been in the media spotlight lately. While he makes his way around, he has a new movie coming out with Jake Gyllenhaal. It is a remake of the classic Road House. If this is how he pretends to fight, I wouldn’t want to be on set fighting him, even in a movie.
Conor McGregor still on his comeback journey
So, he has a movie coming out. Last night he knocked out Burnie. While that is all fine and good, the real concern is if and when he will return to the octagon. With his role in The Ultimate Fighter this year, he has a chance to make his mark in a big way. Then again, he hasn’t scheduled a fight with Michael Chandler yet.
However, that won’t stop the Irish fighter from feeling confident.
“You know, not only just a return Megan, the greatest return in combat sports,” McGregor told UFC reporter Megan Olivi. “This is going to be, you know, I’m gonna kick this guy in the head. He’s just taylor made for being kicked all over the place and that’s what I’m aiming for. I’m aiming to wrap this steel bar around the opponent.
“And you’re gonna see a visual of the leg hanging off and then you’re going to see a visual of the head hanging off. So I’m excited for it and motivated for it. Steady, making my way towards it.”
Maybe we can consider this incident with Burnie his first TKO in his comeback?
On3’s Jonathan Howard also contributed to this article.