Popular mixed martial arts referee Josh Rosenthal has been sentenced to 37 months in federal prison on felony drug charges.
Rosenthal pled guilty to several charges including conspiracy to manufacture and distribute marijuana back in January.
There is no possibility of parole with the sentence, which was handed out Tuesday in California.
In April 2012, a warehouse owned by Rosenthal in Oakland, Calif., was raided and it contained more than 1,300 marijuana plants with an estimated street value of US$6 million.
Rosenthal is widely regarded as one of the best referees in MMA and has officiated some of the biggest UFC fights in recent years including: the UFC 116 heavyweight title bout between Brock Lesnar and Shane Carwin; the UFC 117 middleweight bout between Anderson Silva and Chael Sonnen; the UFC 135 light-heavyweight title bout between Jon Jones and Quinton (Rampage) Jackson; and the UFC 139 classic between Dan Henderson and Mauricio (Shogun) Rua.
The most recent time Rosenthal refereed an MMA event was at the first WAR MMA show in Stockton, Calif., on June 22 — WAR MMA is the new promotion founded by UFC welterweight star Nick Diaz.
This is the second time in the last two months that someone with connections to the UFC has been handed a long-term sentence for drug-related crimes.
In June, former UFC lightweight and welterweight Paul Kelly was sentenced to 13 years in prison in his native England after being found guilty of heroin trafficking.
