Veteran UFC welterweight Tim Means appeared in a New Mexico court on Friday after his arrest on a felony child abuse charge, then left custody with his next court date still undecided.
The report on Means laid out a grim shift for a fighter who spent years making noise in the cage. Instead of being remembered for wars like his win over Mike Perry and other welterweight scraps, Means is now facing a felony case tied to an alleged incident at home.
MMA Fighting reported that Means was arrested on April 21, booked into the Metropolitan Detention Center on Wednesday, and released Friday after his first appearance in court. He currently faces one felony count of child abuse.
The outlet also cited details from the criminal complaint first reported locally in New Mexico. According to that account, police responded on April 10 after a call about a physical altercation. The caller, identified as Means’ teenage daughter, told officers the argument started over chores around the house. She alleged that Means head-butted her in the nose, grabbed her by the neck in a strangulation manner and held her against a kitchen counter, and later punched her on the right side of the face after the confrontation escalated. Police said they observed blood around her nose and visible red marks on her neck and face.
Means has been charged, not convicted, and the case will now move through the New Mexico court system.
Tim Means’ long UFC run is now attached to a felony case
Means, 42, was born in Oklahoma, raised in New Mexico, and has been fighting professionally since 2004. He won titles in King of the Cage before putting together a long UFC stay as one of those durable action veterans who could turn a prelim into a real scrap. Even late in that run, he was still turning up in tough matchups like his split decision loss to Max Griffin.
His most recent UFC appearance came in October 2024, when he was submitted by Court McGee in the first round at UFC 307. Before that, he had already taken a knockout loss to Uros Medic.
Tim Means jawing at "Big Mouth" about his bling is priceless ✨😅 #UFCAustin
🎥 @danawhite, @ufc pic.twitter.com/qGPdf4uDrt
— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) June 17, 2022
This is also another ugly legal headline attached to a familiar MMA name out of New Mexico, a state that has already seen recent combat sports legal coverage around Diego Sanchez’s Albuquerque case. For Means, the immediate issue is the charge itself, the allegations behind it, and the legal process that follows.
