Tim “The Bear” Caron, and the road to the championship – Brendan Higgins

March 5, 2023/Brendan Higgins

By Brendan Higgins, contributing writer

He started in Kenpo Karate at eight years old. The seed was planted early with Tim Caron. He was born and raised in Manchester, New Hampshire. Today, he still calls the Queen City home. On March 18^th, Tim will step in the cage to go to war with Fran Collins in the main event at CES MMA 72. This fight is for the vacant CES MMA world middleweight championship. A fight of this magnitude could only be held at the historic Foxwoods Resort and Casino.

Tim shared some of his thoughts when we spoke via telephone from his gym in Manchester. Tim served in the United States Air Force. That was when his MMA career really began. He said, “Things got serious for me in 2011, when I was stationed in New Mexico. I was ten minutes from Greg Jackson’s gym. I knew if I was going to do this, now was the time. I was coming back from Germany. I was not in shape. I went to my first class. I barely made it through warmups. Those were good times (laughing).

Tim was involved in athletics most of his life. Tim recalled, “I grew up playing basketball and soccer from first grade until the end of high school. I was always competitive even in grade school at recess. I prided myself on being the fastest kid in school. I was the kid who never got caught playing tag.”

Once Tim was in his new MMA environment, things went well. Tim was primarily training in wrestling, kickboxing, and Jiu Jitsu. After that, it didn’t take long for Tim to set his sights on fighting. Tim explained, “Once I got a taste of it in New Mexico, I wanted to keep going. I wanted to keep testing myself. It started with kickboxing smokers. I did a bunch of them.” Tim was 4-0 as an amateur kickboxer.

When Tim came home from the Air Force, he continued his MMA journey. He said, “When I got home, I hooked up with my buddy, Nate Lamotte. The rest is history.”

Tim owns his own martial arts studio called T.I.M.S MMA. His original studio opened in 2019. The name stands for Training, Inspire, Motivate and Succeed. The center offers strength and conditioning, kickboxing, Jiu Jitsu and of course, MMA. Tim said, “When I became an instructor I immediately got better because I had to slow everything down and teach it. I enjoy being an instructor. It’s fun.”

As a fighter, Tim is drawn to the one on one aspect. He will get the chance to put his skills to the test when he faces the undefeated Fran Collins on March 18^th. Tim is known as “The Bear”. While in the military he used to joke around in an Arnold Schwarzenegger voice that he was big as bear and the nickname stuck. Primarily because when he is on top of his opponent, they simply can’t get him off. Just like a bear. Tim said, “If you want to fight me, you are going to get mauled like a bear. Some people need to flip a switch when they fight. I’m actually having fun from the weigh-in until the fight is over. Once I get hit though, it’s like, ok, were doing this. Then I bust out my skill set. Then I bust out the bear (laughing). It can become a chess match at times. Which fighter can become the better player. I stay in control of my emotions and my breathing during a fight. I stay relaxed at all times.”

Tim is ready for his next challenge. He spoke highly of Fran Collins. Tim said, “I’m familiar with him. He is pretty big around here. He is making somewhat of a comeback. We are around the same age. There is absolutely no personal animosity between us, but he is going to have to deal with the bear. He better bring his “A” game. He is trying to jump up in his level of competition. “That is not going to work out well for him.” Tim has this message for his fans – “You guys have been with me for a long time. Thank you all for continuing to support the bear. I’m going to bring that belt home for me and all of you.”

Tim and his wife, Amanda, have been married for six years. They have two sons, Peter, and Oliver. You can learn more about T.I.M.S. MMA at tims-fitness.com. You can get tickets for this and all CES events at www.cesfights.com.

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