UFC Fight Night 112 winner Tim Means happy to be healthy after battling injury vs. Alex Oliveira

OKLAHOMA CITY – Tim Means’ win over Alex Garcia wasn’t a particularly crowd-pleasing one. But happy with just being in one piece for it, Means will gladly take it.

Means (27-8-1 MMA, 9-5 UFC) used an intelligent approach to earn a unanimous nod over Garcia  (14-4 MMA, 4-3 UFC) at this past Sunday’s UFC Fight Night 112. Sure, Means could have done without all the booing that came with it. But fact remains, he was able to outwork a tough opponent and land back in the win column after a submission setback to Alex Oliveira in March.

If anything, given just how horrible he felt for that one, just being healthy this time around was a win in itself.

“I went into the Oliveira fight hurt,” Means said after the FS1-televised main card scrap vs. Garcia at Chesapeake Energy Arena in Oklahoma City, Okla. “Nobody knew – the UFC knew. I had a bone bruise going into that fight from the fight in December, nearly broke my foot. Wound up fracturing my foot in my fight against Oliveira and had a nerve contusion. Bearing weight and stuff, a minute into the fight, was very bad. I felt like somebody was stabbing my calf with a knife or whatever.

“I wanted to come into this fight and just put on a better performance, get 15 minutes in. I wasn’t worried about the finish, I just wanted to beat him down and make a statement that my wrestling is getting better, and people just aren’t going to hold me down here.”

The fracture he suffered in his original UFC 207 encounter with Oliveira, which ended in a controversial no-contest after illegal knees by Means, healed in about six weeks. But the nerve problem persisted. As a result, Means estimates he was at about “60 percent” going into their do-over at UFC Fight Night 106.

On the one hand, he thinks maybe he should have listened to his coaching staff instead of trying to bypass the problem. But, at the same time, he considers himself a gambling man. And, as such, he doesn’t regret his decision to fight anyway.

“If I had to do it all over again, I’d probably still do it,” Means said. “We only get one shot at this. And, minus waiting on fight day, I love my job. That six, seven hours where you just have to wait and think about it all dang day – that’s pretty crappy.

“So, (I’m) happy to just get done, happy to beat a good guy with a durable record in Garcia. He’s had some ups and downs or whatever, but he’s very strong and comes from a very good camp.”

Means, who was on a two-fight streak before the first meeting with Oliveira, won’t use his win over Garcia to issue any callouts. But after he is done spending time with his kids and maybe catching some bass nearby, he will gladly welcome any fellow welterweights who wish to extend him that octagon invitation.

Could that man be, once more, Oliveira? Well, after traveling all the way to Fortaleza, Brazil, to meet with the Brazilian “Cowboy,” that will depend on the circumstances.

“If that’s the case,” Means said. “They only want to do that rematch in Brazil. I’m not going to travel 27 hours one way to let them sit on the couch. I gave him the benefit of the doubt for the knee I threw him in December. He was getting up, I threw the knee, whatever.

“I traveled 27 hours, one way hurt. I did the best I could in the situation I had. Hats off to their camp, I’m thankful for the ass-whooping he gave me. Life’s humbling, man. Life is humbling. So if he wants to get off the couch, and they want to meet us in Europe or in Ireland or something, let’s both travel.”

To hear Means’ full account of his injury, check out the video above.

And for complete coverage of UFC Fight Night 112, check out the UFC Events section of the site.