Despite being the champion of the UFC's toughest division, and having his visage splashed all over Wheaties boxes, Anthony Pettis's mother still doesn't see fighting as a viable career option.
"She comes to the fights, but she's out here in the arena, in the bathroom saying prayers," Pettis told MMAFighting.com's Ariel Helwani. "I like having her here to see the success. To see the whole arena going crazy for her son, and to know that this is a real ... I still have to prove it's a real job to her. She's like, 'When are you going to get a real job?' "
Since Pettis has used the wealth created by his MMA career to buy his mom a car and a house, her questioning his job is less about money than worrying about her son's safety. To his mother's chagrin, Pettis's younger brother Sergio is an up-and-coming UFC flyweight also scheduled to fight at UFC 185.
"I think she's a worry-mom," he said. "She doesn't want her son to get hurt, and she wants me and my brother to have a good future. So I'm trying to stress to her that I'm doing well, but we'll see."
Anthony and Sergio will look to make mom proud on Saturday at UFC 185 in Dallas, when they face Rafael dos Anjos and Ryan Benoit, respectively.
