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Aaron Jeffery is back after a long layoff and is right back in the thick of things with PFL\u2019s 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<\/em>],<\/p>\n \u201cFeels good, man. It sucks to have a long layoff again. Like I\u2019ve had a few of them throughout my career. I was just like checking out my Tapology record and looking at the layoffs I\u2019ve had. It\u2019s definitely not ideal, but it is what it is. It\u2019s part of the sport. People get injured and I\u2019m excited to be back.\u201d<\/p>\n 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<\/em>],<\/p>\n \u201cYeah. 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\u2019ve kind of progressed just back into full normal very, very rough training again.\u201d<\/p>\n 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\u2019s matchmaking approach, Aaron Jeffery quipped [via MMA Canada<\/em>],<\/p>\n \u201cYeah, 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\u2019t 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\u2019re winning, but if you\u2019re out of the tournament, you can be put on the shelf for a bit.\u201d<\/p>\n 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<\/em>],<\/p>\n \u201cYeah, I don\u2019t know, man. I mean like I\u2019m the one fighting. So I\u2019m like not looking at it from a fan\u2019s perspective as much. But I mean to me, I feel like it doesn\u2019t really change a whole lot. I\u2019m just fighting and trying to win fights regardless of if it\u2019s in a tournament bracket or if it\u2019s just in the top 10 or whatever. So to me it doesn\u2019t change a whole lot. But I don\u2019t know, you as like a fan, what do you think? I\u2019ve heard people say it differentiates PFL from other promotions. I\u2019ve also heard it doesn\u2019t really build stars.\u201d<\/p>\n 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<\/em>],<\/p>\n \u201cYeah, that\u2019s 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\u2019s not going to be the personalities necessarily that are making their way to the top. It\u2019s just going to be whoever was the better fighter on that night. So, matchups can be lackluster potentially.\u201d <\/p>\n \u201cBut yeah, when they\u2019re 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\u2019s probably better from a promotion perspective not doing the tournament.\u201d<\/p>\n 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<\/em>],<\/p>\n \u201cYeah, I like it. I think anyone in the top 10. Obviously that\u2019s who they\u2019re going to match me up against. But yeah, this is one that I like. Like you said, he\u2019s been around for a long time. Fought at 205 for a long time in PFL. Now he\u2019s at middleweight. I\u2019ve talked to him too. We\u2019ve 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\u2019s funny that we\u2019re fighting each other now.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cBut I like the guy, man. I think he\u2019s 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\u2019re in the blue corner, you\u2019re with all the blue corner guys. So we talked a bunch. He\u2019s a cool guy. He\u2019s super chill and funny. I was like man, I like you. I think that\u2019d be sick if we could fight each other one day and here we are.\u201d<\/p>\n Aaron Jeffery was asked if there was a specific visualization for how he sees this Josh Silveira clash wrapping up or if it\u2019s more about getting in that flow state to be adaptable and fluid within the body of the bout, Jeffery said [via MMA Canada<\/em>],<\/p>\n \u201cI think a lot. Definitely have to be adaptable. I think he is a pretty well-rounded guy. Like he\u2019s 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\u2019t know if he\u2019s even been finished before, but he\u2019s got a chin on him and he doesn\u2019t quit. So, I\u2019m ready to fight hard for 15 minutes.\u201d<\/p>\nAaron Jeffery and his backstory with Josh silveira before this PFL Charlotte contest<\/h2>\n