Jon 'Bones' Jones Asks Fans to Pray for Mother's Battle With Diabetes
Jon "Bones" Jones uses his arms and legs to defeat opponents in the UFC, but the mixed martial arts fighter is leaning on the power of prayer to help his mother battle diabetes.
On April 23 Jones, 28, bested Ovince Saint Preux for the interim light-heavyweight title, but many questioned why he wasn't fighting in the dominating way he had in the past. For Jones, the answer was more than being rusty after missing over a year in the cage due to a suspension following his arrest.
"In my last fight, you know, I had a lot of stuff stacked up against me. A lot of you guys don't really realize what's been going on in my personal life," Jones said during a press conference for UFC 200 last week, according to MMA Junkie. "My mom is in a real bad position. She's really losing a fight to diabetes right now."
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On Twitter Jones later admitted to having a poor choice of words and called for prayer for his mother.
"I regret saying she's losing the battle what I meant to say was that she's in a battle. Please pray for her," he wrote.
During his UFC 200 press conference, Jones revealed just how serious his mother's battle with diabetes was.
"She got her leg cut off the same week of my fight. So that really messed with me a lot," he said. "I was in jail the same month of my fight. Just going through a lot of stuff, man."
Jones has overcome some tough obstacles recently, but made it clear that he is bringing his focus back to Jesus amid struggles with a drug addiction that almost derailed his UFC career.
"I feel like I am having a come-to-Jesus moment right now. This is real stuff, and I feel so free talking about it now," the UFC fighter said in a King5.com report. "A rough beginning doesn't have to mean there is a rough end. I'm ready to be the best me I can be."
He opened up about the arrest that took place last year after being involved in a hit-and-run accident. According to a police report obtained by CNN, Jones fled the scene but returned to get some cash from his SUV before hopping a fence and running away.
Albuquerque police officials reportedly found a marijuana pipe, marijuana and listed "drugs or medication" as a factor contributing to Jones making an illegal turn that caused the accident. UFC President Dana White took to "FOX Sports Live" to announce that Jones, with a record of 21-1 MMA, 15-1 UFC, would be suspended from the league indefinitely and stripped of his championship title.
While Jones did not receive a jail sentence, he did receive probation, travel restrictions and community service. For some time it seemed he was slowly working his way back from his legal trouble before being pulled over for drag racing last month and accused of calling a police officer a "pig."
Although Jones insists he was harassed during the drag racing incident, he had no trouble taking the blame for abusing drugs in the form of marijuana.
"One thing people don't realize is that you can be a drug addict even if you are a stoner," he said in the K5 report. "If you are waking up every day and smoking, smoking before you eat, smoking before you train, smoke before you sleep, smoking before you watch a movie, smoking before your study session, you are an addict. It doesn't have to be a hard drug to be an addict."
The athlete previously apologized to the public for letting his addiction take over his personal and professional life.
"I apologize to those who were affected by my actions in this incident and I am hopeful that I will be given the opportunity to redeem myself in the eyes of the public, my family and friends as well as my supporters," Jones wrote on Facebook last year. "I am not sure what the future holds for me but I plan to continue to do the work needed to be productive and successful in every aspect of my life."
