It appears Conor McGregor still possesses his famous punching power.
‘Notorious’ hasn’t fought since breaking his leg during a trilogy fight with Dustin Poirier at UFC 264 in July 2021 and hasn’t recorded a win since beating Donald Cerrone 18 months prior.
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At his peak, McGregor was one of the most vicious knockout artists in UFC history, but ahead of his comeback fight against Michael Chandler, some people are questioning if he’s still got what it takes to compete with the best.
On Friday, he showed he can still wow a crowd when he attended Miami Heat’s NBA final game against the Denver Nuggets.
Footage posted on social media shows the Irishman standing on the court, promoting a cryotherapy pain relief spray.
However, he was soon interrupted by the Heat’s mascot, Burnie, who appeared with a pair of golden boxing gloves and seemingly challenge the MMA icon to a fight.
McGregor, who loves to scrap, hit the mascot with his signature left hook before following up with another punch when Burnie dropped to the floor.
Heat staff then pulled the mascot off by the feet, with McGregor running in and spraying him with his pain relief spray as he was dragged away.
What appeared to be a choreographed stunt seemingly went badly wrong.
According to a report by The Athletic, one or both of McGregor’s punches actually hurt Burnie and the man inside the costume ended up in hospital.
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After receiving pain medication, he was sent home and is reportedly doing well.
It’s currently unclear when McGregor will get the chance to score a real KO.
The 34-year-old’s fight with Chandler is yet to be assigned a date, weight, or venue, and UFC president Dana White recently provided a worrying update about McGregor’s return bout.
White, who previously hinted it will take place in December, now suggests that he’s having a tough time tying down ‘Mystic Mac’ as he is enjoying the fruits of his legendary UFC run.
McGregor has recently been sailing around the Mediterranean Sea with his family, dancing with pop star Kyle Minogue and watching the Monaco F1 Grand Prix with Love Island star Luca Bish.