Shaquille O’Neal is truly known as a gentle giant by fans of basketball as well as other sports. He is often known for being a man with a big heart. One, who often helps charities and does deeds that make others’ dreams come true. So what happened when the NBA legend met a UFC fighter? Well, it led the UFC star to make a heartfelt confession to O’Neal. But who is the MMA fighter, and what is his dream? Keep reading to find out.

Jan Blachowicz is truly an intimidating fighter in the UFC. He is known for his powerful strikes in the Octagon that won him his Light Heavyweight Championship back in 2020. But do you know that the MMA fighter had some different aspirations as well? Well, that is what he revealed after getting to meet basketball legend Shaquille O’Neal.

Taking to his Instagram, The Prince of Cieszyn shared a picture of his recent meetup with the NBA legend. The two can be seen shaking hands while the giant makes Blachowicz seem puny in front of him. But what was more startling than the size difference between the two was a shocking confession that the MMA star made about his unusual dream. In the caption of his post, Blachowicz revealed that he once wanted to be a basketball player.

He wrote, “@shaq is in da house! Always a pleasure lol. If not MMA career I would be definitely NBA player (smiling emoji)” The meetup occurred after the two were a part of a charity game, as revealed by the hashtag #charitygame that Blachowicz added in the caption. So maybe this confession is a ploy to make O’Neal make his dream come true as well? Who knows, maybe he will, maybe he won’t.

However, fans of the MMA fighter would surely hope his dream comes true. As for his MMA career, his last bout was a loss against Alex Pereira at UFC 291 by a split decision. He accepted his defeat against ‘Poatan’ with grace. However, he also believes that the Brazilian MMA star is getting some special treatment from Dana White and the company.

Jan Blachowicz reacts to Alex Pereira’s upcoming fight

The former undisputed light heavyweight champion has alluded to apparent “special” treatment by the promotion of current gold holder Alex Pereira. The reason? His showdown against Khalil Rountree at UFC 307 in early October. Pereira, the current undisputed light heavyweight champion and former middleweight titleholder, is scheduled to headline UFC 307 later this year in the promotion’s return to Salt Lake City, Utah. There he will face Rountree in his third defense of the 205-pound crown.

Blachowicz, who has yet to receive his own fight while recovering from shoulder surgery, claimed that the Brazilian was receiving “special protection” from the UFC. As he wrote on X, “With all due respect to Khalil but there are at least two higher ranked contenders who are ready to fight Poatan. He doesn’t need special protection.” 

Echoing these claims, former champion Jamahal Hill, who has expressed his desire for a rematch with Pereira, has received a number of negative comments and has claimed that his confrontation with Rountree is “bad” for mixed martial arts. “Can’t believe what I just saw announced!!! So a guy pulls out of a contender fight because of a failed drug test for a banned substance and gets rewarded with a title shot?!! This is terrible for the sport and makes the rankings completely pointless.”

In his most recent victory, Pereira managed to defend his light heavyweight crown for the second time in June with a dominant second-round knockout victory over Jiri Prochazka. So what do you think? Is the UFC protecting Pereira? Let us know in the comments.