Tim Means to attend hearing for USADA appeal June 15: 'I am expecting great news'

Tim Means will attend a hearing June 15 to appeal his February USADA violation.

While Means could not comment on the specifics of his case, he told MMA Fighting the situation is looking up for him and his team.

"I can't give any info except [the] hearing is the 15th," Means told MMA Fighting via text message. "My attorney, Howard Jacobs, and [UFC vice president of athlete health and performance] Jeff Novitsky have built an outstanding case. I am expecting great news on the 15th. USADA found what they were looking for."

Means was flagged for a potential USADA violation on Feb. 3, forcing him out of a scheduled main event opposite Donald Cerrone at UFC Fight Night 83 in Pittsburgh.

Immediately following the news, Means told MMA Fighting he was not at fault -- he believed the situation was a result of faulty equipment or a tainted supplement.

"I’m losing sleep over this because I don’t know where it’s at," Means told MMA Fighting in February. "I don’t know whether something was tainted or it was a supplement. That’s the thing that’s annoying me, that I can’t put my finger on it ... I ingested something accidentally or it’s a botched lab test on their part."

Should the appeal process confirm Means' suspicions, he's hoping for a quick return to the UFC Octagon.

@Jakecollier88 I go to my usada hearing the 15th. Hoping July.

— tim means (@MeansTim) May 30, 2016

If not, however, "The Dirty Bird" is potentially facing a two-to-four-year suspension if he cannot settle for a shortened sentence, as middleweight contender Yoel Romero recently did. Means addressed this possibility in February.

"At the moment, I’d have to get another job for sure," Means said. "I have bills and responsibilities on the table. I wouldn’t be able to think about mixed martial arts right now, so we’d have to come around whenever the suspension is done. But I’d have to get another job in the meantime for sure."