Watch: Conor McGregor promotes his brand & proceeds to knock down Miami Heat mascot at timeout
UFC superstar Conor McGregor engaged in a playful encounter with the Miami Heat mascot Burnie in the third quarter. With McGregor putting his striking skills to use, the UFC fighter knocked down the Heat mascot.
Conor McGregor just knocked out Burnie https://t.co/w1IdovFhrX
As part of a promotional event, Burnie handed McGregor boxing gloves, and they squared up against each other. McGregor, known for his striking skills, delivered a powerful left hook that knocked down the mascot.
He followed up with a few more strikes, all in good fun. True to his provocative persona, McGregor celebrated in Burnie's face as he walked off the court as well.
While the situation would be viewed as serious out of context, it was all a part of the promotion of Conor McGregor's "Tidl Cryotherapy Spray". The branded product will be official sponsor of the Miami Heat as per McGregor.
Needless to say, the promotion wasn't well-received by the audience as they booed him off the court. With the Heat down by 10 points at the time of the event, the fans were certainly in no mood.
However, this has become part of the UFC superstar's make up at this point.
Having made a name for himself as a "villain" in the marketing sense, McGregor certainly did a great job of drawing attention to himself.
Conor McGregor's diminishing star status
McGregor was widely regarded as one of the most marketable fighters in the UFC at one point. Considering his sudden rise to popularity, the UFC saw a dramatic increase in viewership owing to his antics.
Unfortunately, McGregor's reputaton has taken a bit of a hit since losing to Dustin Poirier in back-to-back match-ups.
This has been particularly tangible as per the recent viewership ratings of "The Ultimate Fighter". Recent TUF ratings revealed that the viewership has seen a significant drop this season, even with McGregor being a head coach.
The concluding event of TUF was expected to be a showdown between the two coaches: McGregor vs Chandler. However, considering the reduced ratings, there have been rumors suggesting that the UFC may pull the plug on the event altogether.
With no date announced for the fight as of yet, this could very well be true.
Read: Chael Sonnen ponders why no date has been announced for Conor McGregor vs. Michael Chandler