Aaron Jeffery Opening Doors When Opportunity Knocks
A win at Bellator 284 could have Jeffery in line for a title
Aaron Jeffery punched his ticket to Bellator 284 in every sense of the word when he got his first-round finish at Bellator 282 at the Mohegan Sun Arena last June. The former CFFC champ was tapped to step in as a late replacement against Austin Vanderford in the opening bout of the main card for Bellator 284 today.
MyMMANews got to speak with Jeffery not long after the news broke and he said he was “pumped” to get the call to face the number two ranked Vanderford.
“I was pumped, man. I mean, I was nervous, anxious, excited all the above,” Jeffery said when asked about his initial reaction. “It kind of happened slowly though, right? Like it’s not just ‘Hey, man, there’s a contract in your email. You’re gonna fight Austin Vanderford next week. It’s like, ‘Hey, this guy just pulled out you might be able to get in, we put your name and we’re waiting to hear back.’ Austin accepted now we’re just waiting for an official from Bellator so it’s kind of like a couple of day process. But yeah, man, it’s f*cking exciting the whole way through.”
Both the careers of Jeffery and Vanderford have been exciting the whole way through too. For those that have been following the middleweights, both fought their way up the regionals to get their shots on Dana White’s Contender Series. They weren’t picked, and now they’re in Bellator facing each other. They both have beaten their opponents by being pressure-heavy fighters, so this fight could be one fans might be talking about for a while.
As for the short notice, it’s not as bad as it sounds, especially for someone like Jeffery. Still, the question was asked and he said, “ Like, after my last fight, I was in the gym the Monday after taking a couple of weekends off here and there. I mean, it’s only been six weeks since the last one. But no, I don’t really take much time off.”
Jeffery is familiar with Vanderford’s style and when asked about the match-up, he didn’t give away his game plan but knows what he has to do to implement his own. “I don’t want this guy on my hips. I don’t want him on top of me on the ground. So I’m going to try and shut that down and implement my game plan.”
Whatever the plan is, it’s one fight you won’t want to miss. Bellator 284’s main card will air on SHOWTIME Friday, August 12 at 9:00 PM ET/6:00 PM PT.
