ONE Championship: Jon Di Bella says UFC star Michael Chandler is ‘for real’ after sparring session in Florida
- ONE strawweight kickboxing champ sparred with UFC lightweight contender Michael Chandler at Kill Cliff FC gym
- Italian-Canadian also caught up with fellow ONE star Aung La N Sang, whom he calls ‘very knowledgeable, very experienced’
Jon Di Bella was impressed by the striking skill of UFC star Michael Chandler during a recent sparring session at Kill Cliff FC in Florida.
Italian-Canadian Di Bella, who holds the ONE Championship strawweight kickboxing title, crossed paths with American Chandler at the famed mixed martial arts gym last week, during the warm-up round for a kickboxing session led by revered coach Henri Hooft.
He had nothing but good things to say about the lightweight MMA fighter after the fact.
“We were just doing some technical sparring,” the kickboxing champion told the Post. “It was fun. It was actually really fun. He’s no joke. He’s for real.
“He’s legit. He’s really good.”
Di Bella shared some footage of his sparring session with Chandler on his official Instagram page. He landed some good shots on Chandler – no surprise considering the American is a wrestler at his roots – but humbly admitted he would have no answer for the UFC star’s wrestling.
“He could have taken me down any time,” he said.
