Tim Means finds redemption after fighting UFC suspension
Stepping into a cage with a highly-trained athlete looking to knock his head off feels pretty easy to Tim Means at this point.
The UFC veteran has fought far more difficult battles outside the cage.
Means was shot outside a nightclub when he was an aspiring young fighter in Albuquerque, New Mexico, in 2004. The prescriptions he took for the pain eventually led to a drug addiction that got so out of control he ended up in prison for four years.
All of those battles helped prepare him for what he considered the most important fight of his life.
With his life very much back in order, Means pursued custody of his daughters because he believed they were in a bad situation living with their mother in Oklahoma. Means says he meticulously listened to everything the judge in the case asked him to do and finally won his case.
His successful story of redemption looked like it may be met by a dark cloud earlier this year when Means was notified of a positive drug test by the United States Anti-Doping Agency.
Means knew he had never taken anything outside the rules and vowed to fight the charge. It turns out all of the obstacles he had overcome had taught him how to deal with a crisis.
Means worked with an attorney and the UFC vice president of health and performance Jeff Novitzky to start to clear his name. Eventually, USADA was able to trace the failed test back to a tainted supplement that should have been perfectly acceptable for Means to take.
Novitzky credited Means with keeping his calm through the adversity.
“He dealt with this situation as professionally, patiently, and just as well as anyone could have dealt with it,” Novitzky said. “He listened to advice, he didn’t fly off the handle. I respect the hell out of him for the way he handled the entire process.”
Means, who took a job as a welder while he was dealing with the potential of a two-year suspension in order to support his daughters, knew he had to fight again.
“I’m good at it,” Means said of fighting. “I’ve worked my whole life for it, unlike welding where I had nothing invested and didn’t know what I was doing.”
Means knew he also had to get back to the cage if for no other reason than to set an example for his daughters.
“I had to show them that just because i got knocked down, i couldn’t stay down,” he said. “I had to find a reason to keep going forward and they’re the reason. I had to show them hard work does pay off and when you do the right things, good things come from it.”
Means did accept a six-month sanction as part of a settlement.
Novitzky, however, cautioned against finding any fault in Means’ actions in the case.
“The one thing he did wrong was to not quite do enough on the front end,” he said. “Although the supplement he took was a Creatin, which is pretty low-risk, he could have chose one that was third-party certified.”
Means made his return to the cage on Saturday on the main card of UFC 202 at T-Mobile Arena and knocked out Sabah Homasi in the second round. It was a rewarding moment for the 32-year-old welterweight after all the trials and tribulations.
Means will now look to get in the cage again, but he’s also going to help spread the word to other fighters about the risks of taking supplements, which are largely unregulated in the United States.
USADA runs several seminars throughout the year where fighters are lectured about spiked and contaminated supplements that are mislabeled and can cause big problems for professional athletes in sports with drug testing.
Means has been in those conference rooms, though he admits he spent much of the time drawing instead of paying attention.
“I heard it, but I had been with the company for seven years and drug tested all the time and I’d never had an issue,” he said. “I didn’t think it was ever going to happen to me. I shouldn’t have thought that way. I know better.
“I always thought the tainted supplements thing was just an excuse guys use when they get caught.”
His mind has been drastically changed. Now he will now help spread the message to other fighters.
He sent one loud and clear in the cage on Saturday night that he is back and ready to make noise in the welterweight division.
BY THE NUMBERS
After reports of sluggish ticket sales all week, UFC 202 did big business at the box office.
While only 15,539 tickets were sold at the large arena, the event did a live gate of $7,692,010. That amount was enough to place UFC 202 as the fifth-highest grossing UFC event of all time in terms of ticket sales. UFC 200, the first UFC event at the arena, drew 18,202 fans for a live gate of $10,700,000.
History was made at UFC 202, however, as Conor McGregor received a disclosed salary of $3 million, marking the biggest price ever paid by the UFC.
Nate Diaz pulled in $2 million for his efforts. Both fighters will likely receive far more total compensation once bonuses and pay-per-view percentages are factored in to the number.
Contact reporter Adam Hill at ahill@reviewjournal.com or 702-224-5509. Follow on Twitter: @adamhilllvrj
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