UFC veteran Tim Means was arrested on a felony child abuse charge on April 21 and appeared in court on Friday before being released, according to MMA Fighting.
Online records show Means was booked into the Metropolitan Detention Center on Wednesday. He was released on Friday with his next court date not yet scheduled.
According to the Albuquerque Journal, police received a call on April 10 that two people had gotten into a physical altercation. The caller, identified as Means’ daughter, told officers she and her father got into an argument over household chores.
The criminal complaint states that Means allegedly head-butted her in the nose during the dispute, grabbed her by the neck in what police described as a strangulation manner and held her against a kitchen counter, threw a potato that hit her in the face, and punched her on the right side of her face with a closed fist when she pushed back.
Police noted in the complaint that there were visible marks on the teenager’s neck consistent with strangulation, blood on her nose from the alleged head-butt, and red marks on her face and cheek.
Means, 42, has spent the past 12 years on the UFC roster, competing primarily at welterweight. His most recent UFC appearance came in 2024 when he was submitted by Court McGee in the first round, his second consecutive loss in the promotion.