In a recent interview, UFC heavyweight fighter Jairzinho Rozenstruik revealed that he turned down a bizarre offer from Junior Dos Santos.

Rozenstruik and JDS will face off against each other at UFC 252. Both men train at the same gym with different coaches. Surprisingly, they have never trained with each other before. And Junior is looking forward to changing that.

According to MMA Junkie—who references Combate—JDS offered to spar with Rozenstruik every week before their clash. However, Rozenstruik discarded the idea for all the right reasons.

“No, I don’t think it’s a good idea,” Rozenstruik told MMA Junkie. “It’s nice of him, you know what I mean. As I said before, he’s a nice guy and he’s got my respect. Most of the other fighters, even Francis Ngannou, Alistair Overeem, they start trash talk and underestimate me and stuff. But yeah, this fight is different.”

Jairzinho Rozenstruik has not given up on UFC gold

Furthermore, Rozenstruik said that fighting the elite fighters in the UFC still feels like a dream.

“I still have the same feeling. It’s not like a dream come true, it’s more like my life is a dream. I’m used to playing (video) games with all those guys and now I’m facing these guys in real life, so it feels good. And yeah, it feels like a dream.”

As far as the belt is concerned, Rozenstruik has not given up his hopes yet. He believes that he is still in the mix. The Suriname native will fight on the same card as Daniel Cormier vs Stipe Miocic 3.

“One hundred percent, we’re right there. Right now we’re on the same card as the champion who fights Daniel Cormier. We’re going to see who’s next, and by that time, I’m going to still be around, stay active, and wait for my chance. Right now my dream is still alive its kind of on hold, but nothing can stop me going to my dream.”

Rozenstruik, 10-1, has knocked out some of the best contenders in the heavyweight division. He suffered his only loss at UFC 249 at the hands of Francis Ngannou. “Cigano,” on the other hand, is on a two-fight losing streak.