UFC president Dana White has made an embarrassing blunder by forgetting lightweight champion Islam Makhachev's name while answering questions about the upcoming super-fight between the Russian and Alex Volkanovski.

The bout at UFC 284 in Perth next Sunday will determine the pound-for-pound king of the octagon and is one of the biggest events scheduled for 2023.

Makhachev has already blasted White for not doing enough to promote the event, and the slip-up will add insult to injury.

White was at Sunday's UFC Fight Night post-fight press conference when he made the gaffe.

'You know, when you talk about legacy, if Volkanovski could pull this off, it's obviously massive, and if uh …if uh …[forgets Makhachev's name] yeah, could pull it off, he is on his way to building an incredible legacy.'

Fight fans had a field day with the blunder on social media.

'I think Dana would rather watch Power Slap than UFC,' said one twitter user.

'Dana sounds pumped about UFC 284,' commented another sarcastically.

'Sheesh, cant he at least pretend lol,' said a third.

Last week, Makhachev blasted the governing body's attempts to drum up interest in the Perth card.

'Dana white himself has some problems. He does not pay much attention to this fight. In terms of pay per view, yes, more could have been done,' the Dagestani said.

'I only saw Volkanovski once, in Sydney. A tour could be organised around the world, a conference could be held in America.' 

Volkanovski will become the first Australian to hold two UFC titles simultaneously if he wins the champion vs champion showdown against Makhachev.

He is already regarded as the top pound-for-pound MMA fighter on the planet, and if he beats Makhachev he will join the likes of Conor McGregor, Daniel Cormier and Amanda Nunes as simultaneous multi-division champs.

Makhachev is on an 11-fight win streak and is coming off an impressive submission win over Charles Oliveira to win the lightweight strap.

Both champions have welcomed the bout from the start, with the pair going face to face in the Octagon after Makhachev's last victory in Abu Dhabi at UFC 280.

Makhachev will go into the bout as the favourite due to his size advantage and incredible grappling skills.

The Australian event will also feature Yair Rodriguez vs Josh Emmett fighting for the interim featherweight title as the co-main event.