Aaron Jeffery (9-2), one of the top prospects not only in Canada, but worldwide, is back in action this weekend at CFFC 93.
The middleweight matchup headlining CFFC 93 is the kind of bout the promotion has become known for — two credentialed prospects, both already tested on Dana White's Contender Series, fighting for a belt that has historically served as a springboard to the UFC. For Jeffery, it is also a homecoming of sorts: the London, Ontario native has built his reputation on the American regional circuit, and CFFC has been the platform for his biggest opportunities.
Competing for the CFFC middleweight title, Jeffery, 28, welcomes fellow DWCS veteran Collin Huckbody (9-2). Jeffery is prepared for war on UFC Fight Pass in what he hopes will be an impressive enough performance to set him up for the future.
Huckbody represents a meaningful test rather than a tune-up. The American likewise entered through the Contender Series pipeline, and his willingness to fight for a regional title rather than wait out a call speaks to the same career calculus Jeffery is running — build the record, win the recognizable belt, and make the promotion's decision easy.
“It’s CFFC, one of the biggest organizations outside the UFC,” Jeffery said in an interview with MMA Empire.
“It’s on Fight Pass, a title fight, will be sick to bring home another gold belt. He’s [Huckbody] a good opponent, he got the contract on Contender Series. Definitely eyes on him, just a big fight all around.”
The stakes are straightforward: CFFC titleholders at middleweight and welterweight have consistently drawn Contender Series looks or direct signings in recent years, and a dominant performance on Fight Pass puts a fighter in front of exactly the audience — and exactly the evaluators — who matter at this stage of a career.
Jeffery’s only losses are to Sean Brady, whom just impressed at UFC 259, and UFC’s Brandon Allen. The Niagara Top Team member is joined by teammates Jasmine Jasudavicius and Anthony Romero in the highly-touted prospect gym. Jasudavicius will be competing on the same card with her teammate, Jeffery.
Niagara Top Team has quietly become one of Canada's more productive talent pipelines, regularly placing fighters on major-promotion cards and Contender Series slots. For Jeffery, sharing a card and a camp with teammates chasing the same goals is part of what makes the grind manageable — the cornermen and the calendar are shared, and momentum in that gym has a way of building on itself.
“It’s sick to travel together. It gets difficult for the coaches, we have two of the same coaches. If you both win together, it’s f**king awesome, can party together,” Jeffery said.
That camaraderie is a genuine competitive edge rather than just a social perk. Fight camps built around teammates fighting on the same card tend to keep intensity high through the hardest weeks of preparation, and corner logistics — usually a scramble for traveling fighters — simplify considerably when the whole team is already on site.
As for what is next for the highly-touted prospect, Jeffery’s hope is a major promotion, such as the UFC.
Currently under contract with CFFC, and hopeful to become their champion, Jeffery is happy in the spot he is in, but continues to strive for more.
His patience is realistic rather than resigned. Fighters at Jeffery's level know the UFC's signing patterns shift with roster space and timing — a title defense here, a finish there, and the picture changes quickly. The path through a CFFC belt has worked for enough middleweights before him that the waiting game is, frustrating as it is, a rational one.
“It’s hard to say,” Jeffery said on if the UFC is next.
The 'one more fight' refrain is a real phenomenon in the modern regional game — fighters who appear ready often need one more credential, whether that's a second belt, a shorter-notice win or simply a vacant roster spot at their weight. Jeffery's honesty about it is a mark of how long he's been grinding for this shot.
“I wish you could answer that for me, people have been saying it for at least a year now. One more fight, one more win, so I don’t really know.”
That answer — or the lack of one — is familiar to anyone who has tracked a Canadian prospect through the regional grind. There is no single fight that guarantees the call; there is only the accumulation of wins, belts and visibility until the phone rings. CFFC 93 is the next entry in that ledger, and a title would make it a hard one to ignore.
Catch the full interview linked above.
Whichever way the title fight plays out, it adds another chapter to a rivalry-free but competitive stretch of CFFC middleweight history — the promotion's willingness to book two DWCS veterans against each other for a belt is exactly what keeps its cards relevant to the majors.
Follow Jeffery on social media: FACEBOOK, TWITTER, INSTAGRAM
