Dana White Blames Miami Heat Mascot for Conor McGregor KO: ‘What Do You Expect?’

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Joe Murphy/NBAE via Getty Images
Warner Todd Huston

UFC chief Dana White finally reacted to video of Conor McGregor’s knockout blows to Miami Heat mascot “Burnie” during last week’s game, and as far as White is concerned, it’s the mascot’s fault.

White was asked about the June 9 incident that occurred between McGregor and the mascot during Game 4 of the NBA finals. During halftime, McGregor appeared on the court to promote his new pain relief product when “Burnie” loped out onto the court wearing giant golden boxing gloves.

Instead of a faux fight stunt, though, McGregor delivered two serious punches straight to the mascot’s face, one after the mascot had fallen to the floor. The blasts reportedly sent the mascot to the hospital with serious injuries.

But Dana White seemed entirely unsurprised by the who fiasco. When asked about it at UFC 289 on Saturday, White said, “What do you expect?”

“I saw the Deontay Wilder one, too,” said White, referring to a 2018 incident where Wilder decked an ESPN Nacion mascot.

“What’s up with mascots wanting to get punched in the face by professional fighters?” White asked.

“What do you expect? I mean, what are those mascot things made out of?” he added.

“Unless you’re like, the Golden Knights mascot — I don’t even know what 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,” White said.

“Doesn’t seem like the brightest thing in the world,” the fight game boss concluded.

McGregor is set to return to the UFC to face Michael Chandler sometime in the near future.

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