In the wake of the brutal left hook former UFC champion Conor McGregor threw that wound up sending the Miami Heat mascot to the hospital, UFC president Dana White slammed the mascot for initiating the incident.
McGregor was standing at midcourt during Game 4 of the NBA finals between the Heat and the Denver Nuggets to promote his cryotherapy pain relief spray TIDAL when the mascot, “Burnie,” ran up to him wearing boxing gloves as a stunt. McGregor first leveled the mascot with one left hook, then hit him with another as the mascot lay on the ground.
🇺🇸🥊 FLASH | Conor #McGregor a mis K.O la mascotte du Miami Heat dans un combat scénarisé, lors du match 4 des finales NBA vendredi. L’individu a été transporté aux urgences à cause de la violence des coups.pic.twitter.com/0fSkmejLhg
— Cerfia (@CerfiaFR) June 11, 2023
The man behind the Miami Heat’s mascot was reportedly taken to the emergency room after being punched by Conor McGregor last night 😬
(via @TheAthletic)pic.twitter.com/NSBvNYQc0T
— Guru (@DrGuru_) June 10, 2023
“I saw the Deontay Wilder one, too,” White reacted, referencing the 2018 incident in which Wilder floored an ESPN Nacion mascot. The ESPN mascot got hit after Wilder, then 40-0 and nicknamed “The Bronx Bomber,” was allegedly unaware that the boxing idea was a joke.
“What’s up with mascots wanting to get punched in the face by professional fighters?” he continued. “What do you expect? I mean, what are those mascot things made out of? Unless you’re like, the Golden Knights mascot — I don’t even know what the hell he wears, but I’m assuming it’s a metal helmet — I wouldn’t have professional fighters punching me in the face if I was a mascot. Doesn’t seem like the brightest thing in the world.”
Dana White reacts to Conor McGregor sending the Miami Heat mascot to the ER 👀 pic.twitter.com/HksDrTwqQq
— Happy Punch (@HappyPunchPromo) June 11, 2023
“That’s the Miami Heat toughness that we’re talking about,” Miami Heat coach Erik Spoelstra grinned. “They should have been allowed to, you know, take the first swing. We won’t reveal who that is, but he’s tough. You take a punch and get back up, and yeah, he’s not gonna miss any time.”
Miami Heat's Erik Spoelstra tells the media that Burnie the mascot is fine after getting socked by Conor McGregor, and taking a trip to the hospital in Game 4 of the NBA Finals…
"That's the Miami Heat toughness…" pic.twitter.com/qDtFgvnR5M
— USA TODAY Sports (@usatodaysports) June 12, 2023
“One minute I’m doing an interview, and the next I look up there’s a big a** burrito to the right of me, waiting on me,” he said. “I didn’t hit no mascots [sic] or anything like that before and I said, ‘Yeah cool let’s make it happen.’ So once I got to select where I got to hit him, I told them: ‘I’m a head-hunter, I like to knock you out! I’m one of the hardest punchers in the world and I thought there was going to be more cushion or whatever. But when I hit him, it was like another opponent, it was crazy. They said I hit him on the chin. I think he was a little bit dazed at first.”
Conor McGregor has joined elite company becoming the second fighter to send a mascot to hospital. Deontay Wilder did it last year! pic.twitter.com/RlJcKgc5Gi
— Boxing Kingdom (@BoxingKingdom14) June 11, 2023