UFC fans fume as Terence Crawford is mistakenly labeled Kendrick Lamar on ESPN broadcast: ‘Fireable offense’
UFC fans reacted strongly to the major blunder that was made during Saturday night’s broadcast of UFC 306 in Las Vegas.
Dana White hosted the event, also called “Noche UFC” in honor of Mexican Independence Day, the first sporting event to be held in the futuristic Sphere in Vegas.
The card featured seven fighters of Mexican descent, led by Alexa Grasso who defended her women’s flyweight title against legend Valentina Shevchenko.
But beyond the spectacle inside the octagon, viewers were left stunned by a huge error during Saturday night’s broadcast of the event. With a host of stars from the entertainment and sports worlds in attendance — including Steve O, Jamal Murray, Bob Iger, Chris Brown, Andrew Schulz and Rey Mysterio — you’d be forgiven for not recognizing a few familiar faces.
However, ESPN confused undefeated world champion Terence Crawford with rapper Kendrick Lamar, leading to anger and laughter from viewers at home.
Undefeated world champion Terence Crawford was in attendance at the UFC’s historic event at The Sphere in Las Vegas
Fans were stunned by ESPN’s huge blunder, which saw Crawford mistaken for Kendrick Lamar
Lamar is a multiple Grammy Award-winning rapper who has enjoyed much 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 was worthy of being fired.
I’m calling Bud Crawford [Kendrick Lamar] is crazy,’ they wrote on X. ‘Dismissable offense.’
Crawford sat cageside next to Saudi boxing giant Turki Alalshikh.
The 36-year-old was on the sidelines of The Sphere instead of across the road at T-Mobile Arena, where rival Canelo Alvarez took every round of Edgar Berlanga to retain his world super middleweight title.
As the camera panned to Crawford and Alalshikh, the Saudi leader addressed the camera as “Canelo,” indicating he still hoped to be at the big fight between the two next year.