Former UFC fighter Rob Broughton jailed for involvement in cocaine enterprise

Former UFC fighter Rob Broughton has been jailed for eight years for his role in a cocaine enterprise that saw him move around £30 million in cash.

As reported by Liverpool Echo, Broughton served as the enforcer or “muscle” for Liverpool brothers Alan and John Tobin. The pair supplied Class A drugs to gangs around the Merseyside area and even stretched out to other parts of England and the United Kingdom.

Broughton, who was known as “The Bear” during his mixed martial arts days, used an EncroChat phone with the handle of “NovaBear”. The sentence came after the brothers had a stash of £20 million seized whilst they were driving on the motorway.

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The judge had the following to say to Broughton during his sentencing.

“I’ve no doubt you have a keen sense of letting your family down and I hope when you’re released you have their best interests uppermost in your mind.”

“It does remain a possibility that you were to some extent at least taken advantage of.”

Broughton has previously had five convictions for nine offences, including possessing a bladed article in 2007 and battery two years later.

While character references did speak highly of Broughton, with many suggesting he was simply used as a way to collect large debts, the judge still handled him the lengthy sentence as a result of his role in the empire.

During his days with the UFC, “The Bear” went 1-2 in the promotion with a win over Vinicius Queiroz and defeats to Travis Browne and Phil De Fries. Prior to that, he actually also picked up a win over Butterbean during his days on the regional scene with Cage Rage, with his final pro MMA record standing at 16-7-1.

Do you remember anything about Rob Broughton’s days with the Ultimate Fighting Championship? Let us know in the comments, BJPENN Nation!