By Kelsey Mowatt

After Tim Means informed FCF recently that he had taken steps to lock up a fight with fellow prospect Justin Salas, the Fit NHB fighter made certain on  Friday that no one would be second guessing that decision afterwards. In what was one of the UFC on FX 3 preliminary card’s more compelling performances, Means quickly put away Salas with a series of strikes to record his ninth straight win.

“I happened to land a big shot early in the fight and just came in for the kill,” the 6’2 tall lightweight said. “It’s just the name of the game. Sometimes it goes in your favor; sometimes it goes against you. That was our night. I couldn’t have been more happier.”

The beginning of the end for Salas came shortly into the fight, when Means rocked the accomplished wrestler with a pounding straight left.

“I totally expected him to come out and exchange,” Means said about the 5’8 fighter. “He thinks he’s a good striker, and he is, but I happen to be a better striker than he is. My coaches and I knew that going into that fight. If he stayed on its feet we were going to win that fight.”

“He came out, threw a sloppy hook right out the gate, and I knew that he was going to come out with that low kick, and I just sat down on the shot,” Means added. “It just happened to land.”

Although Salas was handed a quick defeat, the fighter impressed by valiantly attempting to get back in the fight, even as Means continued to punish him with strikes.

“I was very impressed,” Means said about the determination of Salas, who had won six straight bouts heading into their June 8th fight.. “Salas is an athlete; he’s a grinder, he’s a good athlete. The fact that I hit him with some big shots and he stayed there. It didn’t deter me or make me think I hit him with my best stuff and I can’t get him out of here, I had a whole four minutes left in the first round…I just took my time and kept the pressure up.”

Prior to the fight, Means had relayed to FCF that he felt disrespected by the camp of Salas, when the two fought on the same UFC card in Oklahoma this past February. When Salas was asked to comment recently, he responded by saying that neither him or his Grudge Training Center camp “disrespect anyone.”

“I said up to the fight that I don’t like those guys, but definitely they weren’t being cool to us like they were being in Florida,” said Means. “When we were in Oklahoma they were giving us the cold shoulder 100%, not Justin, just the coaches you know what I mean? Maybe it was just the fact that they knew we were going to wind up fighting, and that was the reason…but when we got to Florida right away Trevor (Wittman) was shaking hands, people were cracking jokes.”

“There’s no animosity,” Means added. “I can talk to those guys and they’re actually pretty nice individuals. Prior to a fight I’m trying to find any reason not to like somebody, and some people may look at that and think that’s douchebag, it’s an issue, but at the end of the day I have to fight them…I have to find a reason to make it a mental issue.”

Now, it will be interesting to see who the UFC matches Means up next, considering the momentum the 18-3 fighter is currently riding.

“I’m thinking that I just turned some heads and I’ve got people looking at me now,” Means said. “I think people are probably taking me a little bit more seriously, but right now, it’s just up to the UFC and Tom Vaughn; I really don’t have anybody in my crosshairs.”