There are many reasons why people tune into UFC fights. For one, it’s a risky type of sport that not a lot of people are willing to engage in themselves, so some people simply enjoy the thrill of watching two people fight. For others, it’s just pure entertainment. Unfortunately, it was not just entertainment on the television for a teen girl whose dad is a UFC fighter. A long-time UFC welterweight has been arrested on a child abuse charge connected to an incident of punching and head-butting his daughter in his home state of New Mexico.
The UFC fighter is accused of physically attacking his teen daughter.
According to the Albuquerque Journal, a UFC fighter is accused of head-butting his 17-year-old daughter in the nose before punching her in the face after the pair argued over household chores.
The accused father is 42-year-old Tim Means. He is being charged with an open count of child abuse and was booked into the Metropolitan Detention Center in Albuquerque, New Mexico, on April 22, 2026, per the Journal.
Court documents show that the Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Department was dispatched to the Tijeras home on April 21, 2026, KOAT reported. Law enforcement spoke to an unnamed 17-year-old female and 18-year-old Kristina Means, another daughter of Tim’s.
The details of the physical altercation between a father and his teenager are haunting.
Strangulation was involved and a potato was thrown at the teen’s head by her dad.
According to the Albuquerque Journal, the teen told police that she and her father had been arguing over household chores when Means head-butted her in the nose.
The teen said she tried to push her father away as he continued to get in her face, but the two ended up in the kitchen, where Means allegedly “grabbed the teen by her neck in a strangulating manner and held her against the counter,” the newspaper reported.
To take things even further, Means allegedly grew angrier and grabbed a nearby potato and threw it at her face, the complaint states, per the Journal. As she tried to gather her belongings to leave, her father allegedly punched her on the right side of her face with a closed fist.
As the complaint states, “Let it be known 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,” per the Journal.
Absolutely brutal.
Shockingly, Tim Means was also a local wrestling coach at a nearby high school.
At the time of his arrest, Means was also a wrestling coach at Moriarty High School, per the Journal. The newspaper could not confirm if Means remains employed by the school as his name is not listed on the staff directory and the superintendent did not respond to the inquiry for a comment.
According to the Journal, Means’ fighting nickname is “Dirty Bird,” and he has fought professionally since 2004. KOAT reported that he has an MMA record of 33-17 with one draw, but he hasn’t fought for UFC since 2024.
Means reportedly told police that the only time he got physical with his daughter was when he tried to restrain her from hitting him, per KOAT. He was released on Friday on his own recognizance and has a hearing date scheduled for May 26, EPSN.com reported.
We hope his daughter has been given a safe place to reside with family and that she’s healing from this traumatic incident.
If you suspect child abuse, you can call the Childhelp National Child Abuse Hotline at 1-800-422-4453 (1-800-4-A-Child) or go to Childhelp.org. The hotline is available 24/7.
