The Miami Heat Mascot Reportedly Went To The Hospital After Getting Punched By Conor McGregor For A Bit

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Friday was not a good night to be affiliated with the Miami Heat.

The team got beaten handily for the second straight game at home by the Nuggets to fall behind 3-1 in the NBA Finals as the series shifts back to Denver for Game 5. During that loss, the team’s mascot Burnie decided it’d be fun to do a bit at midcourt with Conor McGregor, who was sitting courtside for the game.

Burnie came out with big boxing gloves to “fight” McGregor, with the former UFC champ scoring a one punch knockout (and then one more on the ground for good measure).

That punch was apparently a bit more than Burnie had bargained for, as the Athletic reported on Saturday that the man in the costume had to go to the hospital to get checked out and get some pain medication before being discharged — with Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald confirming.

The story notes he is doing well now, which is good, and I feel like the lesson here is to never ask a professional fighter to punch you for a bit, even if you’re in a large, cushioned outfit. Fighters tend to not be the best at pulling punches, and the result might be some injury added to insult.