Aaron Jeffery on Josh Silveira History That Saw AJ Eye A Bout Years Before Big PFL Charlotte Booking
Aaron Jeffery is back after a long layoff and is right back in the thick of things with PFL’s upper-echelon middleweights tonight. The Canadian sensation is returning after over a year away and is going to be battling Josh Silveira on August 7th at PFL Charlotte. When asked how AJ feels returning after his injury reserve timeline has now elapsed, Jeffery said [via MMA Canada],
“Feels good, man. It sucks to have a long layoff again. Like I’ve had a few of them throughout my career. I was just like checking out my Tapology record and looking at the layoffs I’ve had. It’s definitely not ideal, but it is what it is. It’s part of the sport. People get injured and I’m excited to be back.”
When asked if he has amended anything in his preparation at all to account for that experience or if injuries are simply going to invariably pop up in the sport of mixed martial arts, Aaron Jeffery stated [via MMA Canada],
“Yeah. Things are pretty standard at this point. I kind of like ease my way back into things once I started feeling better. Was kind of being careful, as careful as I am for a bit. But no, I’ve kind of progressed just back into full normal very, very rough training again.”
Things have changed since Jeffery last took to the Smart Cage as the Niagara Top Team product now fights under a PFL banner that has moved away from their tournament structure. When asked for his thoughts on this structural shift in the promotion’s matchmaking approach, Aaron Jeffery quipped [via MMA Canada],
“Yeah, like you said, the tournament is nice for knowing your schedule, but it can work out not in your favor. I mean, even aside from this injury that I just had, I probably would have had a long layoff anyways. I fought last June and then didn’t progress in the tournament. So, I would have been off until March or April of this year. So, tournament is good. Like it can keep you active obviously if you’re winning, but if you’re out of the tournament, you can be put on the shelf for a bit.”
Further expounding upon his thoughts on whether he thinks this more normative super fight kind of matchmaking style is ultimately better than utilizing a defined tournament bracket, Aaron Jeffery said [via MMA Canada],
“Yeah, I don’t know, man. I mean like I’m the one fighting. So I’m like not looking at it from a fan’s perspective as much. But I mean to me, I feel like it doesn’t really change a whole lot. I’m just fighting and trying to win fights regardless of if it’s in a tournament bracket or if it’s just in the top 10 or whatever. So to me it doesn’t change a whole lot. But I don’t know, you as like a fan, what do you think? I’ve heard people say it differentiates PFL from other promotions. I’ve also heard it doesn’t really build stars.”
When touching on if he feels like he is now getting more specific attention on himself and if the fighters can now get more specific focus on their booked matchups, Aaron Jeffery stated [via MMA Canada],
“Yeah, that’s the thing. I think it was like Ariel Helwani maybe that was saying the tournament structure is like very bad for trying to build stars and just like build fighters in general. Cuz yeah, with tournament format, it’s not going to be the personalities necessarily that are making their way to the top. It’s just going to be whoever was the better fighter on that night. So, matchups can be lackluster potentially.”
“But yeah, when they’re just doing the regular division in top 10, they can really promote fights and choose big matchups, and guys can talk s**t and help get matched up that way. So, ultimately, I think it’s probably better from a promotion perspective not doing the tournament.”
Aaron Jeffery and his backstory with Josh silveira before this PFL Charlotte contest
When discussing the machinations of this matchup with Silveira and how much this is a big return effort that gets him right back in the fold, Aaron Jeffery quipped [via MMA Canada],
“Yeah, I like it. I think anyone in the top 10. Obviously that’s who they’re going to match me up against. But yeah, this is one that I like. Like you said, he’s been around for a long time. Fought at 205 for a long time in PFL. Now he’s at middleweight. I’ve talked to him too. We’ve been on the same events, I think a couple times, before we were both in the PFL. Once for LFA and I think once for SFT. So we kind of cross paths a few times. So it’s funny that we’re fighting each other now.”
“But I like the guy, man. I think he’s cool. We were in the same corner for the last fights. So the face off lines and medicals and just everything that you need to do, he would be in the same line as me. Like you’re in the blue corner, you’re with all the blue corner guys. So we talked a bunch. He’s a cool guy. He’s super chill and funny. I was like man, I like you. I think that’d be sick if we could fight each other one day and here we are.”
Aaron Jeffery was asked if there was a specific visualization for how he sees this Josh Silveira clash wrapping up or if it’s more about getting in that flow state to be adaptable and fluid within the body of the bout, Jeffery said [via MMA Canada],
“I think a lot. Definitely have to be adaptable. I think he is a pretty well-rounded guy. Like he’s a BJJ black belt, but he likes to keep the fight on the feet pretty often. I got to be ready for 15 minutes cuz he is super durable. I don’t know if he’s even been finished before, but he’s got a chin on him and he doesn’t quit. So, I’m ready to fight hard for 15 minutes.”
