UFC fighter Ryan Spann reveals that former Cavs guard ‘whooped my a-s’ while sparring

Former NBA All-Star Deron Williams, who last played for the Cleveland Cavaliers, has largely been away from the limelight since his retirement in 2017.

But his name recently surfaced as UFC fighter Ryan Spann revealed to TMZ Sports that he once sparred with Williams in the gym. The retired NBA guard was apparently able to pin him down.

“Deron whooped my a– one day,” Spann said. “I’m dead serious. You can call him and ask him. I was doing rounds. I was training for a fight, and Coach was like, ‘Deron, get in.’ And I already knew he hooped, and I knew who he was. But I never got to go with him. I think it was my second round or my third round with a fresh body, and you put Deron in, and I was like, ‘Oh s—, nice, I get a round off.’ Little did I know Deron used to wrestle, and he was about 230 at the time.”

Spann then said that it wasn’t until a little later that his coach told him that he had also been working with Williams in the gym.

“It wasn’t until Deron was on top of me and me struggling to get up, and Coach gonna look at me and was like, ‘Yeah, I’ve been working with him for the last couple of years. You thought you was gonna get this round off?'” he recounted.

When he was in elementary and middle school, Williams starred as a wrestler in Texas. He even won two state wrestling championships.

Williams decided to pursue basketball instead, which proved to be a good decision for the point guard. The University of Illinois product had a successful NBA career. He was a three-time All-Star and averaged 16.3 points and 8.1 assists per game.

He signed with the Cavs midway into the 2016-17 season. The team went all the way to NBA Finals that year, but lost to the Golden State Warriors in five games.