Tim Means calls Alex Garcia ‘silly’ for wanting to stand with him at UFC Oklahoma City

Tim Means (26-8-1, 1 NC) came home from Fortaleza, Brazil a disappointed and wounded man. At UFC Fight Night: Belfort vs. Gastelum, he lost a bitter rematch to Alex Oliveiraand seriously aggrivated an injury he had carried into the fight. This Sunday he looks to get back on track, as he takes on Alex Garcia (14-3) at UFC Fight Night: Chiesa vs. Lee in Oklahoma City.

Looking back on his March 11th fight in Brazil, Means told Bloody Elbow, “I want to top that performance, which shouldn’t be hard. It was a crappy performance, but I’m healed up now and I’m ready to get a win.” What Means needed to heal was his foot, which was seriously damaged during the bout with Oliveira.

According to Means, he went into the fight already with a ‘bone bruise’ on his foot. “I didn’t think it was necessary to pull out or whatever,” he said. “The plan was to work through it and then after the fight I would rest, but it just kind of gave out in the fight,” continued Means. “I checked a pair of kicks, stepped to throw a punch and I thought I rolled my ankle, but later I found out I fractured the foot and that I had a nerve contusion that went along with it.”

Means said the injury was “fairly painful” and that each step he took felt like he was “being stabbed in the calf.” The pain was even worse when he tried to throw a punch, or when he had to carry both his and Oliveira’s weight during the grappling exchanges. “In the fight I wasn’t even thinking about fighting,” said Means. “I was thinking about what I did to my leg. It wasn’t my night… it was his.”

After the fight, Means wore a protective boot for around five weeks to allow the bone fracture to heal. The nerve pain persisted for a while longer. “That nerve was something. So anybody with any kind of nerve pain; I have a soft spot for now. I just hurt a little nerve and it was something else.”

With a clean bill of health, The Dirty Bird heads into Oklahoma to face The Dominican Nightmare, whom Means labeled “a dangerous guy who came into the UFC with a lot of hype.” However, the Oklahoma-born Means thinks Garcia hasn’t lived up to expectations since entering the world’s premier fight promotion. “If you get past the first round he fades. He’s done,” scoffed Means. “He’s got good power early in the fight, a good right hand to single leg takedown, but he doesn’t have a very good gas tank.”

Garcia recently appeared on MMAJunkie Radio. On that show Garcia was bullish over his chances of knocking Means out in spectacular style and hinted that he was looking for a stand-up battle with the New Mexico-based Means. On hearing this, Means was taken aback. “We all know that dude is not going to stand with me,” he said. “He’s going to come out, throw a couple of punches, he might hit me, but he’s going to get hit and then he’ll start shooting takedowns. Everybody knows that.”

“It shows in all my fights. Everybody talks a big game about standing in front of me and it never pans out,” continued Means. “We’re expecting the overhand right to the single leg and we’ve got answers for that and my footwork and my pace are going to break his gas tank. Bottom line. And if he stands in front of me for any part of that fight he’s going to get caught. He’s going to get caught repeatedly. I think I’m most dangerous unranked fighter in the UFC, by far. So we know he’s not going to stand; that’s not going to happen.”

In that same interview Garcia also mentioned he was slightly disappointed to be assigned Means as an opponent, instead of someone ranked in the welterweight division. “He shouldn’t be disappointed at all,” responded Means. “His style is garbage. I’ve seen him on a few fight cards and I can’t sit through an entire fight just because it’s so lackluster.”

Garcia’s last fight was against Mike Pyle at UFC 207. The Tristar fighter won the bout with an emphatic knockout in the first round. Means says he saw this fight, but still wasn’t very impressed with Garcia. “I’m a fan of Mike Pyle, but he had some mileage on him going into that fight. He had been through the ringer a couple of times before he fought Alex. He’s hyped up over the Mike Pyle win. That’s cool, that’s awesome, but I don’t think that’s much for bragging and he’s not going to stand in front of me like that. He’s silly.”

Means and Garcia are set to lock horns in the main card of UFC Fight Night: Chiesa vs. Lee, so there’s not long to wait to see whether Means is right to assume Garcia will avoid the pocket opposite him in the Octagon. Whether the fight is a ‘stand-up war’ or not, Means is confident that the match will be must-see-TV.

“I don’t think I’m ever in a boring fight,” stated Means. “I get out there and I’m either sending guys out on their shield or I’m getting sent out on my shield. I lay it all out on the line. Losing or winning, I fight my ass off every fight. And that’s why I want people to tune in for this. I lay it on the line, so give me some respect and watch my fight.”