When you hit him with one of these big shots and he doesn't go away, what're you gonna do? - Aljamain Sterling questions what Sean O'Malley will do when he's the "nail" against Petr Yan

Sean O'Malley is set to face the toughest test of his career against former bantamweight champion Petr Yan at UFC 280. Although the American is the No.13-ranked bantamweight, he has been fast-tracked to a bout against the No.1-ranked contender.

Few bantamweights understand O'Malley's next opponent better than Aljamain Sterling. 'Funk Master' recently went on his FunkMasterMMA YouTube channel and weighed in on the upcoming fight between O'Malley and Yan:

"I do feel like there's a lot of question marks on the toughness of Sean O'Malley. It's one thing when you are the hammer, but buddy, when you are the nail! In that first Yan fight, like you said, he was beating me up pretty good. After I was piecing him up, he started to piece me up. I showed that I can be the nail and still keep coming forward and take it. We haven't seen that with you yet."

The Jamaican-American champion cautioned 'Sugar' about his Russian opponent. He added that this was not the type of fight O'Malley was used to, as he likely won't be able to easily dominate and apply pressure. In his upcoming fight with Yan, the former bantamweight champion will almost certainly be the one applying pressure.

'Aljo' carried on and warned O'Malley about Yan's superior resilience:

"What happens when Yan punches you to the gut? Hits you to the liver, are you gonna fold? Are you gonna roll over and quit? When you hit him with one of those big shots that you've been hitting on all these other guys, and he doesn't go away, what are you gonna do? Are you gonna wrestle, Petr?"

Watch Aljamain Sterling's complete video on his YouTube channel:

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Sean O'Malley has promised to elevate his game

The reception around this fight's announcement has led many to question whether Sean O'Malley is ready for the biggest stage. Aljamain Sterling has faced Petr Yan twice, winning against the favored Yan both times, and he made clear that he didn't favor O'Malley going into this fight.

O'Malley's only fight against a ranked opponent was his last bout against Pedro Munhoz. Unfortunately, the fight, which could have been a potentially exciting encounter between two well-matched fighters, was ruled a no-contest.

However, 'Sugar' has assured fans that he will only get better as the level of his competition rises:

"I think the higher level guys I fight, the better ‘Sugar’ you guys are going to get. I’ve not been able to show my true MMA skills inside the octagon. I think Petr’s the guy to really let us see how good I really am."

Watch his full comments on The MMA Hour's latest edition with Ariel Helwani: