As it turns out, even the biggest event in the UFC’s history isn’t safe from mistakes by the promotion’s production team. And one mistake became front and center all over social media after Ciryl Gane and Alex Pereira made their way to the cage for their interim heavyweight title fight in the co-main event of UFC Freedom 250 at the White House South Lawn on Sunday. 

As veteran announcer Bruce Buffer was introducing both fighters, UFC’s production team mistakenly showed the French heavyweight as Dustin Gaethje on their on-screen prompt. Thanks to Paramount+ and the anticipation for the mega event, the mistake was broadcast live across the globe to hundreds of thousands of fans. But it didn’t stop the action. 

As the fight began, Ciryl Gane seized control of the opening round with crisp jabs, punishing leg kicks, and effective body attacks, repeatedly beating Pereira to the punch while mixing in takedown threats. Although Alex Pereira found some success late with a pair of right hands, the frame belonged comfortably to Gane. 

In the second, however, the fight turned dramatically when Gane dropped Pereira with a massive punch and swarmed with relentless ground-and-pound, elbows, and hooks. The newly minted Brazilian heavyweight briefly survived the onslaught, but Gane kept the pressure on until a crushing hook combination secured the stoppage at 01:27 of round 2.

Coming back to UFC’s mishap, this isn’t the first time the promotion has made such a mistake during one of its events. During the UFC 306 back in September 2024, live from the Sphere in Las Vegas, the UFC’s broadcast team made an equally embarrassing mistake. Their on-screen graphic showed Terence Crawford as rapper Kendrick Lamar. 

Even then, the promotion faced criticism over the lackluster and ignorant job. And this time, the story was much the same. As the fight was unfolding inside the cage, social media was buzzing with criticism of the UFC and its production team. 

UFC’s production team branded ‘retards’ over Ciryl Gane-Justin Gaethje mistake

One user poked fun at the UFC using sarcasm. The user wrote, “How Justin Gaethje has changed!” He changed and went from lightweight to heavyweight. 

Another fan wasn’t in the mood for jokes. The fan commented, “Why are these retards projecting ciryl Gane as Justin Gaethje?” the fan asked. Mistakes are part of any event, but this one unfolded in full view of the audience. 

A third user simply branded the UFC incompetent. The user commented, “The incompetents who put Gaethje’s presentation on Ciryl Gane.” Such mistakes can also end in someone getting fired. 

Someone else joked that this was the only way ‘The Highlight’ could beat Ilia Topuria. The user posted, “That’s how you beat Ilia, haha.” But the funny thing is Gaethje ended up beating ‘El Matador’ via retirement between rounds. 

The next suggested that the broadcaster didn’t know who Justin Gaethje was. The user wrote, “Gaethje according to Netflix.” But the event was broadcast on Paramount+. 

That being said, it appears Ciryl Gane’s win over Alex Pereira has been overshadowed by UFC’s mishap live. Gane is now en route to a rematch with the champion of the division, Tom Aspinall.