A former UFC fighter known as 'Dirty Bird' is facing felony child abuse charges after police say he punched and headbutted his 17-year-old daughter during a dispute over household chores. Tim Means, 42, was taken into custody following the incident on April 21 in Tijeras, New Mexico, and released from the Metropolitan Detention Center on Friday, according to court records.
Altercation Details
Deputies from the Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Office responded to a home on Camino De Avila after receiving a report of a physical altercation, as detailed in a criminal complaint obtained by The Albuquerque Journal. The teenager told police that she and her father were arguing about chores when Means allegedly headbutted her in the nose. She stated that he continued to get in her face, prompting her to push him away. The confrontation escalated in the kitchen, where Means allegedly grabbed her by the neck in a 'strangulating manner' and held her against the counter.
According to the complaint, Means then threw a potato at her face. The teen said she began pushing and punching him in an attempt to escape. As she tried to gather her belongings to leave, Means allegedly punched her on the right side of her face with a closed fist. The complaint noted visible hand and red marks on the teen’s neck, indicating strangulation, as well as blood in and on her nose from the headbutt, and several red marks on her face and cheek.
Means' Background
Means, nicknamed 'Dirty Bird,' has fought professionally since 2004 but has lost five of his most recent bouts and has not fought since October 2024. He was previously released by the UFC in 2013 for repeated weight-cutting failures but returned the following year and continued competing in the welterweight division. In 2016, he was suspended after testing positive for a banned substance, but the suspension was lifted six months later after the result was attributed to a tainted supplement.
