UFC fans didn’t take too kindly to a major gaffe during the UFC 306 broadcast in Las Vegas on Saturday night.
Dana White hosted the event, also called ‘UFC Night’ in honor of Mexican Independence Day, the first sporting event in the futuristic Las Vegas Sphere.
The card featured seven fighters of Mexican descent, headlined by Alexa Grasso, who was defending her women’s flyweight title against legend Valentina Shevchenko.
But beyond the spectacle in the Octagon, viewers were left stunned by a huge gaffe during Saturday night’s broadcast of the event. With a host of entertainment and sports stars in attendance, including Steve O, Jamal Murray, Bob Iger, Chris Brown, Andrew Schulz and Rey Mysterio, one could be forgiven for not knowing a couple of famous faces.
However, ESPN confused undefeated world champion Terence Crawford with rapper Kendrick Lamar, sparking some anger and laughter among those watching at home.
Undefeated world champion Terence Crawford was on hand for UFC’s historic event at The Sphere in Las Vegas.
Fans were stunned by ESPN’s huge mistake, which confused Crawford with Kendrick Lamar.
Lamar is a multi-Grammy Award-winning rapper who has enjoyed huge success in 2024 thanks to his public feud with Drake.
The rapper was recently announced as the headliner for Super Bowl LIX on February 9.
Fans were quick to react on social media, with one joking that the mistake deserved his firing.
“Calling Bud Crawford (Kendrick Lamar) is crazy,” they wrote in X. “Offense that could lead to a firing.”
Crawford was sitting cageside alongside powerful Saudi boxer Turki Alalshikh.
The 36-year-old was cageside at The Sphere instead of across the street at T-Mobile Arena, where rival Canelo Alvarez won every round against Edgar Berlanga to retain his super middleweight world titles.
In fact, when the camera panned to Crawford and Alalshikh, the Saudi boss said “Canelo” to the camera, seemingly indicating that he still hoped to make the big fight between the two next year.