UFC fighter Tim Means arrested on child abuse charge

Veteran UFC fighter Tim Means was arrested on a single charge of child abuse on April 21 before he made his first appearance in court on Friday before being released.

Online records show that Means was taken into custody on Wednesday and booked into the Metropolitan Detention Center. He was released on Friday with his next court date not determined yet.

He currently faces a one felony count of child abuse.

Means’ criminal complaint was not immediately available but the Albuquerque Journal revealed details from the arrest after charges were filed.

According to the report, Means was arrested on April 10 after police received a call that two people had gotten into a physical altercation. The caller, identified as his daughter, told police that she and her father, who was identified as Means, got into an argument over chores around the house.

The victim told police that Means allegedly head-butted her in the nose during the argument and she eventually pushed him away.  As the argument continued, Means allegedly grabbed the teenager by the neck in a “strangulation manner” and held her against the kitchen counter.

The situation continued to escalate with the victim telling police that Means allegedly threw a potato at her and hit her in the face. When she resisted by pushing and punching Means in order to get away from him, the fighter allegedly punched her on the right side of her face with a closed fist.

Police stated in the criminal complaint that “there were visible hand and red marks on (the teen’s) neck, indicating she was strangled. There was blood on and in her nose where she was head-butted and several red marks indicated she was hit in the face and on her cheek.”

Means was arrested and taken into custody by police.

The 42-year-old fighter has spent the past 12 years on the UFC roster while primarily competing in the welterweight division. He last fought in the UFC back in 2024 when he suffered a second consecutive loss in the promotion when he was submitted by Court McGee in the first round.