Child-abuse case against UFC fighter Tim Means dismissed in Metro Court

Metro Court ended the child-abuse case against UFC fighter Tim Means after a witness failed to appear for the June 15 preliminary hearing, and prosecutors filed the dismissal as a nolle prosequi with prejudice. In New Mexico felony cases, that early hearing is where the state must show enough evidence to keep the charge moving, so the witness problem stopped the case before a judge ever heard the allegations at trial.

Means, 42, was arrested after Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Office deputies went to his Tijeras home on the night of April 21, 2026. Deputies spoke with a 17-year-old female and with Kristina Means, 18, identified as Tim Means’ daughter, after a domestic argument over housecleaning; the complaint said the teen accused him of headbutting her, punching her, and trying to choke her. Means told police there had been a physical altercation, but he disputed the allegations in the complaint.

The dismissal matters because a nolle prosequi in New Mexico is ordinarily a prosecutor’s formal dismissal of a pending charge without prejudice, while the filing in Means’ case was entered with prejudice. That made the June 15 ruling more significant than a routine pause, because it left prosecutors without the same charge to revive in the ordinary course.

Means was already a recognizable name in Bernalillo County: the Albuquerque fighter nicknamed “Dirty Bird” had a 33-17-1 professional record, including 15-14 in the UFC, had not fought since Oct. 5, 2024, and was coaching wrestling at Moriarty High School when he was arrested. For local readers, the case showed how quickly a high-profile felony complaint can rise into public view and then fall apart at Metro Court’s preliminary stage, where witness availability and courtroom timing can determine whether a case advances on the same evidentiary rules that govern ordinary defendants.