Conor McGregor might not be welcome at Kaseya Center again.
The former UFC champ sent Miami’s mascot, Burnie, to the hospital for treatment with a punch to the face during Game 4 of the NBA Finals on Saturday, a league source told The Athletic’s Sam Amick.
The man playing Burnie was reportedly given pain medication and is doing well after being sent home following the punch.
The left hook from McGregor came during a mid-game promotion in which he was promoting his pain relief spray.
McGregor added another punch while Burnie was sprawled on the floor of the court.
To add insult to injury, he gave the mascot some of the pain relief spray — which evidently did not prevent the anthropomorphic fireball from needing further treatment.
MMA fighter Conor McGregor takes a swing at Burnie, the Miami Heat mascot, during a break in Game 4 of the basketball NBA Finals against the Denver Nuggets, Friday, June 9, 2023 AP
There’s no such thing as bad publicity, so goes the cliche, but it’s hard to imagine that knocking out the mascot will result in increased sales for the product.
Amid a 108-95 loss to the Nuggets that put the Heat in a 3-1 series hole, McGregor was in fact booed before cold-cocking the mascot.
But the crowd’s reaction got worse after the incident.
Though the punch was by design — Burnie was wearing gold boxing gloves — McGregor seemingly took the bit too far.
McGregor will return to the octagon for the first time since July 2021 against Michael Chandler later this year.
He broke his legs in a loss to Dustin Poirier nearly two years ago and has not fought since.
McGregor was booed during Game 4 in Miami. APAs for the Heat, they will try to stave off elimination on Monday night in Denver.
