'Accidental'? Tim Means says knees in first fight with Oliveira intentional, so go ahead and DQ him

FORTALEZA, Brazil – The first time Tim Means and Alex Oliveira got together, it was nothing short of controversial.

Means (26-7-1 MMA, 8-4 UFC) and Oliveira (16-3-1 MMA, 5-2 UFC) were booked for a lightweight fight at UFC 207 in late December, and their fight was a great one – until Means hit Oliveira with a pair of illegal knees while the Brazilian was a downed opponent.

Referee Dan Miragliotta said the knee was accidental and the fight was ruled a no-contest. And that no-contest necessitated their rematch, which takes place Saturday at UFC Fight Night 106 at Centro de Formacao Olimpica do Nordeste in Fortaleza, Ceara, Brazil. The card airs on FS1 following early prelims on UFC Fight Pass, and Means-Oliveira will open the main card.

But Means today told MMAjunkie calling his knees from the first fight “accidental” is a stretch.

“I don’t know how they called it accidental,” Means said at a media day in support of the card. “I misconstrued the rules when we were breaking them down in the back (before our first fight), and we have to have this three points of contact, hand down and all that. … I saw his hands up, I saw him trying to defend my knee, and he thought a knee was coming, as well. When I got in the back, there were fighters who also were confused on it. There was a big gray area. I’d take more responsibility on myself and call myself a dumbass if it was only me who thought that the knee was legal. But there was a whole bunch of confusion behind it. … I didn’t try to hurt him or cheat him in any way, but I did try to take him out.”

In fact, Means says by all means, go ahead and give him a disqualification loss in their first fight instead of the no-contest. Because after all, saying the knees were accidental, in his estimation, is a lie – and he’s the one who threw them.

“If we’re following the rules, we’re following the rules,” Means said. “Accidental? They’re playing with my intelligence. I threw the knee on purpose because I thought it was completely legal, so give the dude the DQ (win).”

The hope on Saturday is that Means and Oliveira can settle their score without any controversy. And when it comes to that, he thinks he still has the edge. He was less than a 2-1 favorite heading into their first fight, but this time around, he’s well more than a 2-1 favorite.

He believes he showed enough in the short time he was in the cage with Oliveira (their original fight was stopped at the 3:33 mark of the first) to warrant the rise in confidence that he’ll get his hand raised, even if it’s in hostile territory this time in Brazil.

“We’re going to start off where we left off,” Means said. “It was a fight he was losing. He was supposed to outwrestle me and outgrapple me, and it wasn’t working for him. We grabbed ahold of each other, and I was the stronger fighter. I don’t know how he expects to win in front of his friends and family … I expect to put him down in front of his friends and family. …

“There was more in our three-minute fight than in the five-round championship fight (between Tyron Woodley and Stephen Thompson at UFC 209) the other night. I thought a lot went down. I was winning the wrestling and the grappling exchanges, and I’m going to do just that again.”

For more from Means ahead of his rematch with Oliveira, check out the video above. And below, check out the photos from their controversial first fight in gallery and video form.

And for more on UFC Fight Night 106, check out the UFC Rumors section of the site.

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