Tim Means working full-time job during suspension, plans on taking legal action
<p dir="ltr">Tim Means will be working a full-time job during his absence from the octagon.</p>
<p dir="ltr">Means was suspended for six months by USADA, the independent administrator of the UFC Anti-Doping Policy, following his failure of an out-of-competition drug test. The 32-year old, who was preparing for a main event bout against Donald Cerrone, tested positive for Ostarine that he never took intentionally. After further investigation, it was proven that a nutritional supplement that Means took was tainted with the performance-enhancing drug, which is why he received a six-month suspension as opposed to the typical two-year suspension.</p>
<p dir="ltr">Means <a href="http://www.mmafighting.com/2016/6/14/11922054/tim-means-got-job-as-metal-fabricator-during-usada-suspension-hopes-ufc-august-return">spoke to MMAFighting.com</a> to discuss his thoughts on his unfortunate situation and his plans during his absence from the octagon. A father of two, Means said he got a job as a metal fabricator to make a living until he’s allowed to fight again.</p>
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<p dir="ltr">"I went and got another job," Means said. "I couldn’t be in fight mode then. I was aggravated and didn’t need to have my mindset in a fist fight, so I went and started learning how to do metal fabricating. I went from something where I was team captain in my trade to the lower end of the totem pole, to the bottom. It was a very humbling experience.</p>
<p dir="ltr">"The suspension that they offered, I put the worst-case scenario in my head. I have two daughters that are permanently living with me now, so there was no time to sit and wait and let stress build up. I had to keep my mind busy."</p>
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<p dir="ltr">Means went into further detail about the other losses he suffered for unintentionally taking the PED. On top of losing a payday for his main event bout against Donald Cerrone, at one point, he considered retiring from the sport entirely.</p>
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<p dir="ltr">"I wasn’t really interested in MMA," Means said. "I was mad. I was mad at it. I threw my whole life into mixed martial arts, and I had to step back and let USADA do its tests. [UFC Vice President of Athlete Health and Performance] Jeff Novitsky helped me, and we brought [attorney] Howard Jacobs in, so I let them do what they do, and I just tried to step back and stay sane and realize how much I do love mixed martial arts.</p>
<p dir="ltr">“People have been sued for a lot less – main event, lost wages, there’s a lot left on the table. That’s something I’m going to let Howard Jacobs handle, my attorney. He’s very interested and very good at what he does. So I’m going to let him handle that aspect. I just have to get back to doing my job.”</p>
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<p dir="ltr">Means is coming off of a <em>Performance of the Night</em> knockout victory over John Howard and will be able to return in August.</p>
Jamal Khayat is a writer for RoughCopy MMA. He began his training in combat sports in 2009 and has competed as an amateur in both MMA and boxing. He is currently pursuing a B.S. degree in Physics at the University of Central Florida.
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