After suffering the first loss in his career in his first fight of 2017 against Jordan Young at Bellator 178 in April, middleweight up and comer Tim Caron opted to continue to do what he was doing rather than make wholesale changes to his game.
In the end, Caron’s decision to remain true to what he had done previously paid off, as he was able to rebound off the loss to Young with a victory over Mitch Whitesel this past November at Combat Zone 64.
“It was a decent year,” Caron told MMAWeekly.com. “I fought less than I want to. I had two fights last year. I’d like to get in more, maybe four. I got my first loss, and it’s kind of a weight off my shoulders. It’s nice to get back to winning after that loss.
“I knew things would come back around. I pretty much stayed the course. I worked on some things I thought I was weak on, but for the most part it was steady going. I’ve had a good career so far.”
As Caron states, though he understands he has to continue to develop his game to keep up with the sport, he feels fundamentals have been just as important to his learning process as anything.
“You’re always learning,” said Caron. “This sport is constantly learning. There’s stuff that I’ve learned that I’m just refining and sticking to. I’m not really going too crazy. I’m sticking to the basics and just being the best at that.”
On February 2 in Lincoln, Rhode Island, Caron (8-1) faces Timothy Woods (7-5) in a bout that looks to play out the opposite of his previous fights at CES 48.
“This is actually a switch-up,” Caron said. “(Woods’) kicks look very difficult to deal with. They look hard, almost like he’s a Muay Thai fighter, so I’ll be on the opposite end looking to get him on his back.
“(Getting the fight to the ground is) how I’m going to get the win. Once I get him there, work my ground ‘n’ pound, look for an opening and choke him out.”
Having had big show experience with Bellator in the past, Caron is looking to return to that level again in 2018, but his immediate goal is to secure a win on February 2 and go one fight at a time from there.
“There’s always a goal of taking it to the big shows,” said Caron. “But I don’t look ahead. I’m taking this fight, and once it’s over, I’ll look to the next one and that’s what I’ll do.
“I trust my manager. He’s doing a great job. He sets them up. He lines them up and I knock them down.”
