Detroit Lions wide receiver Jameson Williams announced Thursday he will accept a two-game suspension by the NFL for violating the league’s performance-enhancing substance policy.

Williams had said he had “no choice but to take it on the chin” to a Monday report on the suspension. He issued a statement Thursday through his agent confirming he was notified of the suspension earlier this week.

“The news came as a complete surprise that I am still trying to understand,” Williams said.

“I don’t take supplements or vitamins, and I am overly cautious about even taking over-the-counter medicine. At no time have I ever taken something in an attempt to cheat or look for an unfair advantage. I understand that I am responsible for everything that goes into my body and I have to take accountability in this instance.”

That means Williams will miss Sunday’s game with the Lions (5-1) hosting the Tennessee Titans (1-5) and a Nov. 3 road trip against NFC North rival the Green Bay Packers.

Williams has had a breakout season, a year after serving a four-game suspension for violating the NFL’s gambling policy.

He has 17 catches for 361 yards with three touchdowns. In 12 games last season, he had 24 receptions for 354 yards and two touchdowns. He returned from knee surgery two years ago and played six games and caught a 41-yard TD.

Williams, 23, is the first player in franchise history to have each of his first six receiving touchdowns cover 30 yards or more.

Detroit traded up to draft the former Alabama star with the No. 12 pick overall in 2022 and has been patient with him. The team expected him to miss much of his rookie year with a knee injury and publicly has supported him during last year’s suspension and this week’s reported punishment.

Reporting by The Associated Press. 

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TKO Group Holdings — the combined company with UFC and WWE — has acquired new assets from Endeavor in an all-stock deal worth $3.25 billion.

Terms of the deal were announced on Thursday with TKO acquiring Professional Bull Riders, the event planning and hospitality service On Location as well as IMG, a sports and media agency, producer and distributor previously housed at Endeavor.

Under the terms of the deal, Endeavor “will receive approximately 26.14 million common” shares of TKO stock and “will subscribe for an equal number of shares of TKO’s Class B common stock.”

Once the deal closes, Endeavor will own 59-percent of TKO with remaining shareholders controlling the other 41-percent of TKO stock.

“PBR, On Location, and IMG are industry-leading assets that meaningfully enhance TKO’s portfolio and strengthen our position in premium sports globally,” TKO president and COO Mark Shapiro said in a press release. “Within TKO, they will help power the growth of our revenue streams and position us to capture even more upside from some of the most attractive parts of our sports ecosystem: media rights, live events, ticket sales, premium experiences, brand partnerships, and site fees.

“These assets are already built into our business strategy at TKO and will serve to further enhance our strong track record of execution across UFC and WWE.”

The deal comes as Endeavor is preparing to go private after spending the past three years as a publicly traded company. Silver Lake, a private equity firm, is funding the privatization at an approximate cost of $13 billion.

Obviously, Endeavor remains the primary shareholder in TKO, which is still a publicly traded company with UFC and WWE now being joined by these new assets in the combined company.

Since UFC and WWE merged under TKO Group Holdings, the company has flourished with stock prices continuing to rise in 2024. The UFC has continued to report record revenues year after year since being acquired by Endeavor back in 2016.

UFC is expected to give TKO another jolt in 2025 when the promotion negotiates a new broadcast rights deal, which is expected to be worth several billion over the next few years. The UFC’s current deal remains exclusive with ESPN through the end of 2025.

ABU DHABI – What initially started years ago as a distant yet respectful relationship (at least publicly) between the UFC and PFL has slowly turned into a bit of a feud.

Days after PFL: Battle of the Giants took place, Dana White was asked about recent claims made by Donn Davis that PFL was beating UFC in some statistical categories. Unsurprisingly, White did not agree. What was a surprise was that he came prepared with a printout and rattled off statistical comparisons between Power Slap and PFL.

“First of all, the PFL should keep the UFC out of their mouth,” White told MMA Junkie and other reporters Thursday. “They can’t even deal with Power Slap. Power Slap destroys PFL. It’s weird that you ask those questions because I just happen to have some papers here.”

After listing off stats of social media posts and views, White took exception with Davis’ interview Wednesday with MMA Fighting, during which the PFL CEO claimed he does not watch MMA outside of his own brand.

“I can keep going on for a f*cking month here,” White said. “Then, if you want to get into what he said about the UFC, I have a laundry list here. But let me just start with this: UFC Vegas 84 at the Apex beat them. So listen, I understand and I love the stuff that he said. He sounds like Kamala (Harris). He talks a lot but says nothing. I would hate to be one of that guys’ investors. ‘I don’t watch MMA. I’ve worked seven years and have never taken a vacation.’ You should probably take a vacation. You’re out of your f*cking mind, dude. You should probably take a vacation.

“I have a list here. I will have Lenee (Breckenridge) get you guys this list of all these numbers. But that guy shouldn’t even mention the UFC. He’s not even in Power Slap’s (realm). Then today he was talking about how ‘there’s all kinds of combination packages and stuff how this works.’ He doesn’t beat Power Slap in revenue. He doesn’t beat Power Slap in ticket sales. He doesn’t beat Power Slap in sponsorship. He doesn’t beat Power Slap in anything, let alone the UFC.”

Prior to PFL’s acquisition of Bellator in late 2023, the promotion was not frequently mentioned by White in interviews. However, now that the landscape has changed, White has been asked about PFL with increased frequency. He initially spoke with respect when talking about PFL, Davis, and the rest of the ownership group.

Over time, however, the jockeying for credit in the public arena has increased. PFL and Davis have attempted to paint themselves in the same light as the UFC in a more aggressive manner than former Bellator president Scott Coker did during his tenure as the UFC’s biggest competitor.

In response, White’s putdowns have also picked up. On a nearly weekly basis during Dana White’s Contender Series, White would be asked about PFL – and gladly embrace the opportunity to talk down on the brand.

Dana White nearly cut Francis Ngannou from the UFC years before he left of his own volition.

Earlier this month, Ngannou made his long-awaited return to MMA, knocking out Renan Ferreira in the first round of their heavyweight matchup at PFL: Battle of the Giants. The fight was Ngannou’s first since leaving the UFC as heavyweight champion in 2023 and re-ignited a simmering feud between the 38-year-old fighter and his former boss.

The basis of the dispute between White and Ngannou is part of the reason why “The Predator” chose not to re-sign with the UFC based on the terms that were offered. During a Power Slap press conference on Thursday, White doubled down on his declaration that Ngannou could have made more money staying in the UFC, but this time added a new wrinkle: He actually wanted to cut Ngannou from the promotion in 2018.

“Francis is all about the money,” White said. “Francis left because he knew that if he fought Jon Jones and didn’t win, it would hurt his chances of making the money that he wanted to make. But realistically, his deal was bigger here. His deal was bigger here if he stayed in the UFC. … They can deny it all they want, why the f*ck would I lie? Why do I care? It doesn’t matter to me one way or the other.

“I was going to cut Francis when he lost two in a row. I was going to cut him. Somebody around here begged me not to do it. So it wouldn’t have mattered to me, one way or the other. There’s a much deeper story to this whole thing and he would have made more money if he stayed in the UFC.”

Ngannou dropped back-to-back fights in 2018, falling to Stipe Miocic for the heavyweight title in their first encounter and then losing a decision to Derrick Lewis six months later in a fight widely considered to be one of the worst in modern UFC history.

Of course after those losses, Ngannou went on his current run, stringing together four first-round knockouts to earn a second crack at Miocic. He won the rematch via second-round knockout to claim the UFC heavyweight title.

Ngannou then defended his title against Ciryl Gane and while many fans hoped he would return to the promotion for a showdown against Jon Jones, he opted to sign with the PFL in free agency.

For White, that was the end of his focus on Ngannou.

“He didn’t want to fight Jon Jones, that’s a fact, and we’re moving on,” White said. “Obviously, everybody loves Tom Aspinall and wants to see Jones and Aspinall, or Stipe and Aspinall. I feel like when Stipe and Jon were young — Jon was 23, youngest champion in UFC history — somebody gave him an opportunity. I think that Stipe and Jon, whoever wins should give Aspinall the same opportunity they had.”

Jones and Miocic are set to fight for the heavyweight title in the main event of UFC 309 next month. With interim heavyweight champion Tom Aspinall waiting for his shot at the undisputed title, the bout has faced criticism, particularly with both Miocic and Jones potentially teasing retirement afterward.

But for White, he believes that’s just posturing and fans will ultimately get the fight they want for Aspinall.

“I think both Jon and Stipe will say they’re going to retire because they’re going to start negotiating,” White said. “And what the negotiation is, we will get the deal done.”

UFC 309 takes place on Nov. 16 at Madison Square Garden in New York City.

ABU DHABI – Bellator bantamweight champion Patchy Mix still hopes to see Leandro Higo soon.

Mix (20-1) was scheduled to defend his title against Higo (23-6) in the Bellator Championship Series: Paris main event on Nov. 16, but the event was canceled. In the meantime, Mix has opted to remain active by competing at ADXC 6 on Friday, where he’ll face former ONE Championship title holder Kairat Akhmetov in a no-gi grappling match.

“I want to stay active, and just because I’m staying active does not mean Leandro Higo is off the hook,” Mix told MMA Junkie on Thursday. “When they rebook this, he will be done in two rounds, and I’m hoping he’s watching me this weekend. … I feel like this fight will be rebooked early next year, and we’ll see how it goes, but I’m ready for it.”

Mix hasn’t gotten official word yet on what’s next but is open to defending his belt against anyone – including Raufeon Stots, who called for a rematch after submitting Marcos Breno this past Saturday at PFL: Battle of the Giants.

“I want them all, every one of them,” Mix said. “I’ve taken out everyone in the top five of my division, I’ve fought Magomedov twice, and it doesn’t matter. I’ve seen Raufeon Stots win. There’s a ton of guys out there, and it doesn’t matter who, it just matters when. You can send anybody, but you can’t send anyone you want back.”

PFL founder Donn Davis alluded to MMA Fighting that the Bellator brand might no longer exist in 2025. When asked his reaction, Mix said he just hopes to keep drawing top-level competition.

“As long as I keep getting these big fights, like there’s humongous names over there at PFL that I personally like,” Mix said. “Brendan Loughnane’s been killing it, he’s in the finale this year, he’s a world champion in the past. There are so many exciting fights, so I haven’t heard that.

“But no matter what it is, I’m just excited for the future. Like I said, I’m in my prime of my career, and I just want to prove to the world what I know, and that’s I’m the best 135-pound bantamweight walking in the world today, right now.”