Tim Means is fine with being a WalMart greeter if it’s because he’s bored, just not because he’s financially strapped following his fighting career.
Wichita, Kansas — After two straight split decision losses, Tim Means (28–10–1 (1)) got back on track with a TKO victory over Ricky Rainey at the TUF 28 Finale last November. The losses had left Means with something to prove — most of all, “it was proving to myself that I could mix it up.”
Means addressed that subject, and life after fighting, with the press at Thursday’s UFC Wichita media day. “I get in there and want to force guys to go backwards, I want to pressure you by staying on my feet,” he said. “But there’s so many aspects to this game that makes it so cool. That’s why we’re involved in mixed martial arts.”
“If you want to box, kickbox,” he said,”go sign those contracts and stay there.” But in the end, “to get in there and do what I’ve been doing in practice and show it under those lights, that was the important deal.” He showed exactly what he could do against Rainey. Now, it’s on to Niko Price, on the main card of UFC Wichita this weekend.
As for his focus now that things are going well, it’s not hard to stay the course. “At the end of the day I get paid,” said Means, adding that “I’m trying to figure out how to save money. And in ten years, [to figure out] where I’m going to be at in ten years. I want to be fishing. If I have to be a greeter at WalMart, it’s because I’m bored and I don’t have nothing else to do, and I’m not having to do it financially.”
Opportunities like the fight against Price, “these opportunities are setting me up down the road.” Means is not, however, worried about ranked opponents or title shots. “What matters is being able to be myself, feed my family, pay for Father-Daughter dances, pay for my kid’s basketball camps, and just go from there.”
Being a fighter lets Means live his own life, not on anyone’s schedule outside Fight Week. “There’s nothing better than that.”
He’s also trying to avoid following in the footsteps of fellow athletes who have succumbed to financial ruin. “You see these things where fighters get down the road, these athletes are retired, and they’re broke in a year. Guys that are making millions and millions of dollars. I’m just trying to figure out how not to learn those lessons like I’ve had to learn lessons in the past.”
Watch the full UFC Wichita (UFC Fight Night 146) media scrum with Tim Means above.
