Jon Jones won't have a loud, familiar voice in the crowd this weekend when he faces Daniel Cormier at UFC 200.
The UFC interim light heavyweight's mother Camille will be back home in upstate New York on the mend following surgery to have part of her leg removed due to complications from diabetes. Jones made the sad revelation about his mother's health after UFC 197 and explained it further at a recent UFC media lunch.
Jones, 28, said his mother has struggled with diabetes for years and it has begun to have a noticeable affect on her health, including a loss of eye sight and part of her leg. Jones said Camille is currently in training for a prosthetic and is doing better than she was back in April during UFC 197 fight week.
"It's really tough for us to see your mom going through that," Jones said at a media lunch in Los Angeles. "She's had a lot of scares and we're praying for her and hoping that things get better. As of right now, she's kind of in a stabilized position where things aren't getting worse and things could be getting better for her. So we're just hoping things continue on the up and up."
While Camille seems to be getting better, Jones laments the entire situation. He credits his mother with a great deal of his fortitude and hates seeing her in such a state.
"Today she has three sons who are multi-millionaires and we try to do such nice things for her," Jones said. "She can't see at all. She can't see any of it. She's always wanted a mink coat; I got her a mink coat. She has no clue what she looks like in it, because she can't see. We take her to beautiful restaurants and see her fumbling over her food and things like that. Someone has to feed her. These should be the best years of her life. She's worked so hard to get us out of the ghetto and how this is her situation. So, it's tough on us to see her go through this, but my mom is so strong. I believe she is where I get a lot of my strength from."
Jones (22-1) won't have his mother nearby when he faces Cormier on Saturday at T-Mobile Arena. He'll miss their former ritual of her meeting him backstage before bouts.
"My mom has always been a huge supporter of me and all my brothers," Jones said. "She's our No. 1 fan, our No. 1 cheerleader. She's always had our back. If you watch my fights, you always here like 'Jonny!' She's always screaming in the background. She comes to my room before every fight and she prays for me. She rubs my face and everything and tells me, 'You're still gonna be pretty after the fight.' It's funny, because she always says to me, 'I got a feeling it's gonna be an easy fight, it's gonna be quick work.' She said that before Gustafsson fight. Now every time she says it, I'm like, 'Yeah, yeah. Sure, mom.'
"She's my girl and it's different fighting without her, but I know she's with us in spirit."
Jones will be attempting to win back the light heavyweight title that he never lost in the cage against Cormier. The UFC stripped Jones of the belt last year after a felony hit-and-run arrest. Jones won the interim title against Ovince Saint Preux at UFC 197 and now he's coming for the gold that he believes is rightfully his.
His mother, too, is working her way back.
"The infection has finally stopped and she's training right now to get a prosthetic leg," Jones said. "She's eating a lot healthier and doing the right things. She's kind of playing catch up."