MMAOddsBreaker’s Frank Trigg speaks with UFC welterweight Tim Means, who was pulled from the UFC Fight Night 83 main event against Donald Cerrone after failing a pre-fight out of competition drug test.
Means gave an interview with his immediate reaction to the positive test three weeks ago, but he’s learned significantly more since then and provided an update on his current situation:
“I got the B sample back and it was the same urine sample they took originally. The B sample came back with the same reading, one nanogram or one billionth of a milligram, the lowest of what you can be tested for. I have Jeff Novitsky on board with me. He heads the anti-doping program with the UFC. He told me he believes me. The numbers speak for themselves. They wouldn’t be beneficial for me in any way. He believes that I have a tainted supplement. I took pictures of all my supplements and he shot that out to all the experts he works with in his field and they red-flagged a supplement that I can’t really speak of at the moment, but I got that supplement to USADA. Onye [Ikwuakor] with USADA believes me and they’ve really been going above and beyond to help me pinpoint where I ingested it at and how I ingested it. So they have the supplement now. They got it last Thursday and now I’m in the waiting process. I’ve hit them up a few times, but they haven’t given me a time frame.”
So what is the best or worst case scenario for Means right now?
“They can say up to a verbal warning, or they can say I’m responsible for what I put in my body and it would still be up to a year suspension. They’re testing the supplement free of charge right now, but if they don’t find it in this supplement and I have to test the other four or five supplements I have, it could be anywhere between $1000 and $4000 to test a supplement and there’s still a suspension on the table if they find it. I’m not comfortable with spending that money right now knowing I could still get suspended or even fined.”
In the meantime, Means has taken up a second job while he waits for everything to (hopefully) clear up.
“I had saved some cash, but I didn’t want to watch that savings wither away at all. I went up to a place with my Uncle Larry and they’re teaching me how to metal fabricate with cuts and tape measures and welding and stuff every day. I’m getting an education in it plus working 40 hours a week. Life’s still good. I got my girls here. I got to go to the Father/Daughter dance when I was supposed to be weighing in on the 20th so I’ve been able to spend a lot of time with my family. I wish I could compete, but you’ve got to adapt and roll with it. I hope they find the supplement they’re concerned about, but I’ve moved on with my life. The job is keeping me busy mentally.”