The world’s top MMA fighter just called Sean O’Malley ‘one of the best strikers in UFC’

Who is the best striker in UFC?

Fans are likely to give you a variety of answers, though I’m sure most lists would include former featherweight champion Max Holloway, who holds multiple striking records in UFC including Significant Strikes Landed (3122) and Total Strikes landed (3366).

Perhaps it’s time for Sean O’Malley to enter the conversation.

That’s according to reigning featherweight champion Alex Volkanovski, who bested Holloway in three separate title fights. “The Great,” currently tied with Jon Jones atop the promotion’s pound-for-pound list, lauds “Suga” for his “calculated” attacks.

O’Malley (16-1, 1 NC) has 11 knockouts in 16 wins.

“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 on his YouTube channel. “Especially in that division. There’s so many — that’s a stacked division. You’ve got your [Cory] Sandhagens, obviously, Petr Yans, Aljamain (Sterling), there’s so much talent.”

The 28 year-old O’Malley will have a chance to capture the bantamweight crown when he collides with reigning 135-pound champion Aljamain Sterling atop the UFC 292 pay-per-view (PPV) event this Sat. night (Aug. 19, 2023) at TD Garden in Boston.

“Man, it is a stacked division and I think he’s one of the best when it comes to striking,” Volkanovski continued. “So that’s saying something. He’s very creative, doesn’t just throw flashy 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 offense, 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.”

Even “Chito” is a believer.

MMAmania.com will deliver LIVE round-by-round, blow-by-blow coverage of the entire UFC 292 fight card right RIGHT HERE, starting with the early ESPN+ “Prelims” matches at 6:30 p.m. ET, followed by the remaining undercard balance on ESPN/ESPN+ at 8 p.m. ET, before the PPV main card start time at 10 p.m. ET on ESPN+ PPV.

To check out the latest and greatest UFC 292: “Sterling vs. O’Malley” news and notes be sure to hit up our comprehensive event archive right here. For the updated and finalized UFC 292 fight card and ESPN+ lineup click here.