UFC veteran Tim Means is in the clear for now after the child abuse case against him was dismissed without prejudice when a witness failed to appear in court.
On Monday, prosecutors filed “nolle prosequi,” which means the district attorney’s office was unwilling to pursue or no longer plans to prosecute Means for the charges against him. Means was facing one count of child abuse, which was a felony, and he could have been looking at prison time if convicted.
Instead, prosecutors were unable to move forward with the case after a witness involved with the case failed to appear in court.
Because the case was dismissed without prejudice, the charges could potentially be refiled at a later date.
Means was initially 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 to get away, 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 then arrested and taken into custody by the police.
Now the charge against him has been dismissed, with prosecutors no longer moving forward with the case.
A 12-year veteran in the UFC, Means last fought in 2024 when he suffered a second consecutive loss in a row when he fell to Court McGee by submission. Overall, Means has gone just 1-5 in his past six fights.