Former UFC welterweight Tim Means, 42, has been charged with felony child abuse after allegedly punching and headbutting his 17-year-old daughter during an argument over household chores. The incident occurred on April 21 at a home in Tijeras, New Mexico, according to a criminal complaint obtained by The Albuquerque Journal.
Deputies from the Bernalillo County Sheriff's Office responded to a report of a physical altercation. The teenager told police that the argument escalated when Means headbutted her in the nose. She said he continued to get in her face, prompting her to push him away. The confrontation moved to the kitchen, where Means allegedly grabbed her by the neck in a 'strangulating manner' and held her against the counter.
The teen further claimed that Means threw a potato at her face, and she began pushing and punching him in an attempt to free herself. As she tried to gather her belongings to leave, Means punched her on the right side of her face with a closed fist. The complaint noted visible hand and red marks on her neck, indicating strangulation, as well as blood in her nose from the headbutt and red marks on her face and cheek.
Means was taken into custody and booked into the Metropolitan Detention Center on Wednesday, later released on Friday. Known as 'Dirty Bird,' Means has fought professionally since 2004 but has lost five of his most recent fights and has not competed since October 2024. He was previously released by the UFC in 2013 for repeated weight failures but returned the following year. In 2016, he served a six-month suspension for a banned substance, later attributed to a tainted supplement.
