DANA WHITE appeared to awkwardly forget Islam Makhachev’s name as he promoted the star’s upcoming fight.
The UFC chief was attempting to hype up another huge bout with the Russian set to take on Alexander Volkanovski this week in Australia.
ReutersWhite has been UFC president since 2001[/caption]
GettyIslam Makhachev is looking to defend his lightweight title[/caption]
Makhachev is the lightweight champion after October’s brilliant win over Charles Oliveira.
He will put his title on the line at UFC 284 in a mouth-watering clash most fight fans cannot wait for.
But UFC president White was hard-pressed to even remember the name of one of the fighters taking part.
He told reporters: “It’s beating all the fights of its type and it’s probably going to beat the record for pay-per-view in Australia and New Zealand.
“The UFC, our record, which was Conor [McGregor] and somebody. But it looks like it’s going to break that record. It’s a monster fight.”
White then appeared to struggle with his memory as he said: “When you have the number one and the number two pound-for-pound guys in the world fighting each other in their prime, it’s never happened.
“So when you talk about legacy? If Volkanovski can pull this off, it’s obviously massive. And if… if, umm… you know… um yeah … can pull it off, it’s… he’s on his way to building an incredible legacy.”
Despite White appearing to forget him, Makhachev has proved himself to be a force of nature in the sport.
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The 31-year-old has only lost one fight in his professional MMA career.
Since that 2015 defeat to Adriano Martins, he has won his last 11 fights.
But Volkanovski is himself a formidable competitor and boasts a 22-win streak with only a sole 2013 defeat blemishing his record.
The fight kicks off an exciting couple of months for UFC with Jon Jones’ return to the Octogon and the rematch between Leon Edwards and Kamara Usman both taking place in March.