The UFC Freedom 250 card got off to a rough start after the historic event was delayed by nearly 45 minutes because of rain. Unfortunately, the issues persisted even after the action finally began. The opening featherweight bout between Diego Lopes and Steve Garcia was marred by a mistake in Bruce Buffer’s announcement and early streaming issues on Paramount+.

After Lopes and Garcia entered the makeshift Octagon on the South Lawn, Bruce Buffer mistakenly introduced the Brazilian-Mexican fighter as a two-time featherweight “champion” instead of a title challenger. However, ‘The Voice of the Octagon’ quickly caught the error and corrected himself while the live broadcast continued.

“The number two-ranked UFC featherweight champion… contender of the world,” Buffer announced.

Well, that appeared to be a genuine slip-up from the 69-year-old veteran announcer. However, it is not the first time Buffer has made a mistake during a live UFC broadcast. Earlier this year, he mistakenly announced Marcin Tybura as the winner against Tyrell Fortune in a heavyweight fight at UFC Seattle fight night before immediately correcting himself.

That particular mistake ended up having bigger consequences than expected. Following Buffer’s incorrect announcement, an X user named Verrissimus reportedly placed a live bet of $676 on Fortune in hopes of winning nearly $67,000. However, Buffer’s introduction error was not the only broadcasting mishap during the opening fight of UFC Freedom 250.

When the bout between Diego Lopes and Steve Garcia started, Paramount+ viewers were left without commentary for a period of time, with the audio dropping off. Then, shortly after the broadcast team came back on air, Joe Rogan accidentally mixed up the fighters and referred to Diego Lopes as “Diego Garcia” during the fight.

Well, this mistake came only a day after Rogan had another on-air mix-up during the UFC Freedom 250 ceremonial weigh-ins, when he mistakenly identified Bo Nickal after the cameras panned toward his opponent, Kyle Daukaus. Following this, the longtime UFC commentator quickly acknowledged the latest error and apologized.

Despite the production issues and commentary mistakes, the fight itself delivered. The former two-time featherweight title challenger Diego Lopes secured an impressive second-round knockout victory over the surging Steve Garcia, stopping him with a barrage of punches in the second round.

Still, because of the repeated mistakes during the opening fight and the streaming issues experienced by viewers, many fans grew frustrated with the broadcast.    

Fans call out Bruce Buffer after veteran announcer makes error during UFC Freedom 250 fight

One fan quickly chimed in and wrote, “Did Bruce Buffer also succumb to pressure from the White House? 😜”. Afterward, another user poked fun at the veteran announcer’s mistake and wrote, “Buffer nervous asf🤣”. Keeping the same sentiment alive, a different fan even suggested that Buffer should retire from announcing, writing, “He needs to hang them up…”

Bruce Buffer has been on the receiving end of multiple slip-ups throughout his lengthy UFC career. However, there is no denying that the 69-year-old has delivered far more iconic moments than occasional mistakes. In fact, Buffer previously floated the idea that he would like to continue announcing UFC events until UFC 400 before seriously considering retirement.

But even though Buffer fumbled Diego Lopes’ introduction, the Brazilian-Mexican contender ended up delivering one of the most impressive performances of the night. Because of that, one fan jokingly suggested that Buffer may have accidentally predicted Lopes’ future success, writing, “Even Bruce knows he’ll be champion.”

After reacting to Buffer’s mistake, fans also turned their attention toward the temporary commentary outage during the opening fight. One viewer appeared to enjoy the silence and wrote, “It’s so nice without any commentators talking during the fight”. Another fan echoed that opinion and added, “I was actually really enjoying it hahahaha.”

However, not everyone was focused on the missing commentary. Some viewers also caught Joe Rogan accidentally mixing up Diego Lopes’ name during the live broadcast. Calling out the longtime UFC commentator, one fan wrote, “Rogan just called him Diego Garcia 🥲”.

Again, it is not the first time Rogan has struggled with fighter names during a UFC broadcast. Over the years, the color commentator has occasionally mixed up fighters, particularly those outside the United States. Most notably, Rogan appeared to have trouble pronouncing Umar Nurmagomedov‘s name. 

That said, despite the production issues, commentary mistakes, and Buffer’s announcement slip-up, the UFC Freedom 250 card has gotten off to an explosive start. More importantly, the fighters have continued to deliver inside the Octagon, producing one highlight-reel finish after another for the White House crowd.