Conor McGregor, Brook Lopez size each other up before courtside faceoff in middle of NBA game

The Milwaukee Bucks and Utah Jazz were in the middle of a game Monday night when UFC star Conor McGregor caught the attention of players on the Bucks’ bench in a most unexpected way.

In a sequence visible on the broadcast, McGregor appeared from out of nowhere and casually walked along the bench while action was happening on the court. It’s not like they were in the middle of a timeout; the game was being played!

McGregor was seen staring back at Bucks players when he turned and walked toward Brook Lopez. And in that moment, McGregor and the 7-foot-1 center sized each other up and had themselves a courtside faceoff.

You can watch the surreal scenes in the video below:

After the Bucks’ 125-10 victory, Lopez described what happened in the moment.

“He asked me to stand up, and I did,” Lopez told reporters in the locker room. “I knew at that point, once I got up, I had to size him up. I had to do a little something. I’ve seen the faceoffs before, so I knew I had to do my part.”

Considering McGregor is a defendant in a lawsuit alleging sexual misconduct at a 2023 NBA Finals game, it’s somewhat surprising to find out an NBA team would greenlight a promotional appearance by McGregor at one of its games.