UFC bantamweight champ Aljamain Sterling has been warned against moving up to face Australia’s Alexander Volkanovski, with title rival Sean O’Malley declaring: “Volk’s a different animal … you don’t want that fight”.

Already being hailed the greatest bantamweight in UFC history, Sterling is again putting his title on the line in this Sunday’s UFC 292 headliner against O’Malley – a fighter Volkanovski describes as one of the best strikers anywhere on the UFC roster.

While Volkanovski is leaning slightly towards yet another Sterling defence, he suggested on his YouTube channel this week that Suga Sean could earn a TKO upset saying “he’s up there as one of the best when it comes to striking”.

UFC 292 | SUN AUG 20: UFC bantamweight champion Aljamain Sterling will look to cement himself as one of the greatest bantamweight’s in UFC history as he faces Sean O’Malley. ORDER ON MAIN EVENT ON KAYO SPORTS >

Should ‘Aljo’ win however, he has already talked about a move up to challenge Australia’s UFC featherweight champion, who also sits equal first in UFC pound-for-pound rankings with Jon Jones.

But O’Malley insists that would be a mistake.

“He (Sterling) has been talking about moving up for a while, so if it happens it happens, we’ll see,” O’Malley told Fox Sports Australia this week.

“Realistically, he could go up.

“He walks around at about what 145ers walk around at.

“But there are some real monsters up there at featherweight.

“So I can see him losing this fight, taking a year off, and then realising he doesn’t want to go up to 145 pounds after all.”

So as for how a fight between Volkanovski and Sterling plays out?

“Volk’s is a different animal,” O’Malley continued. “So he don’t want that fight.

“I don’t want to fight him.

“If I’m champion and they offer me to go up and face Volk, I say, ‘Nah, I’m good’.

“First off, he just seems like a cool dude.

“A good dude.

“And I’ve watched his fights live a few times too and what he’s done … just beating Max Holloway three times is insane.

“Then beating Yair Rodriguez the way he did, what he did to Korean Zombie, the fight with Islam Makhachev, the guy really is on another level.”

O’Malley said he had not been made aware of Volkanovski’s praise before being told by Fox Sports Australia.

“I hadn’t heard that,” he said.

“But coming from Volk, I think pound-for-pound he’s the guy. Right now, hands down number one.

“So that’s really sweet.

“And I’ve been saying the same thing since I first arrived, that I’m one of the best strikers … I was saying it before I’d had all these crazy knockouts.”

Asked how his own fight against Sterling plays out this Sunday, O’Malley continued: “It’s striker versus grappler … he’ll try to grab me while I’m out there to try and knock his head off his shoulders.

“It’s as simple as that.

“I’m going out there to try and put his lights out.”

While O’Malley has no interest in facing Volkanovski as UFC bantamweight champion, he again suggested that, with gold around his waist, he could make a one-off crossover to boxing – like Conor McGregor did – and challenge undefeated WBA lightweight champ Gervonta Davis.

Asked which UFC rival might put his own growing popularity up there in McGregor territory, he replied: “It’s tough because there really isn’t anyone in the division who matches my popularity.

“There are guys who still build a big fight, and I think the ‘Chito’ Vera rematch is big.

“It’s unfortunate what Corey (Sandhagen) did to him, he completely destroyed him which makes it a little less exciting.

“But Henry Cejudo is also an exciting fight. And if Henry grows a few inches that might be a bigger fight.

“Corey too, but he’s just not that entertaining of a person.

“So me versus all those guys is a big fight because of the position I’m in.

“But as for that massive fight? Somebody has to come make some noise, do their job otherwise I’ll have to go over and look at Gervonta Davis.

“If we’re talking big fights, that’s one.

“And I’d love to do that.

“I wouldn’t call Davis a superstar yet, but he’s on his way.

“A really good boxer who just finished Ryan Garcia, so I think that would be super exciting.

“But I have to become UFC champion before I start playing in those waters.”

Speaking on his YouTube channel this week, Volkanovski described Suga Sean as not only one of the greatest strikers in a stacked bantamweight division, but anywhere on the UFC roster.

“Sean O’Malley, I think he’s up there as one of the best strikers in the UFC, he’s right up there,” Volkanovski said.

“Especially in that division. There’s so many — that’s a stacked division. You’ve got your Sandhagens, Petr Yans, Aljamains, there’s so much talent.

“Man, it is a stacked division and I think he’s one of the best when it comes to striking.

“He’s very creative, doesn’t just throw flash stuff.

“It’s calculated.

“He’s got really good distance management, he’s really good at drawing strikes out of people and countering.

“He’s really good on the offence, coming forward. He’s good even on the back foot.

“He’s good on his angles. Very, very high-level stuff and he can be very creative while he does that.”

So as for a Volkanovski prediction?

“I’m leaning towards Aljamain,” he said. “I just think that wrestling and control is gonna eventually get there.

“(But) you know how sometimes you watch someone’s story and it’s just like something is meant to be?

“You have Aljamain talking about definitely moving up after this … a part of the story is does he lose and he was moving up anyway and Sean O’Malley, this whole rise that he’s done, becoming champion, massive superstar for the UFC. … It could be — it feels like sort of something that could happen.

“You know when someone just has that momentum and it’s just meant to be and it happens? I’m a believer in that sometimes, man, I really am.”