UFC veteran Rob Broughton gets lengthy prison sentence after being caught with £20m cocaine haul

Rob Broughton (16-7-1 MMA, 1-2 UFC) worked as an enforcer for a drug operation in the UK

Retired MMA veteran Rob Broughton has received an eight-year prison sentence for serving as the enforcer of a drug-dealing operation in Liverpool, England. Before he retired from professional MMA, Rob Broughton competed for major European MMA promotions, Cage Rage and M1, as well as the UFC.

Liverpool siblings Alan and John Tobin were caught with a £20 million cocaine shipment in August of 2018. The duo supplied Class A drugs to armed drug gangs across England, Wales, and Scotland.

As per the Liverpool Echo, Rob Broughton has been sentenced by the Liverpool Crown Court on charges of serving as the enforcer for the Tobins. He is accused of lending muscle to collect payments from their clients and enforcing debts until his arrest in 2020.

Broughton's attorney, Anthony Barraclough, asked the judge to try his client as a money launderer instead of an enforcer because there are no records of Broughton's involvement in violent acts of crime.

Get the latest updates on One Championship Rankings at Sportskeeda and more

However, the judge denied the appeal and deemed the 'enforcer' the most appropriate term to address Broughton and sentenced him to eight years of imprisonment.

Meanwhile, the Tobin brothers, Alan and John, received 20 and 19 years, 8 months sentences respectively. The 186-kg cocaine shipment seized in 2018 is the largest-ever seizure in the United Kingdom.

Wow, ex-MMA fighter and UFC veteran Rob Broughton sentenced to eight years for acting as the enforcer for an OCG caught with £20m of cocaine 😳He was using his fight nickname as his handle on an encrypted phone 😭https://t.co/LbHEprvUjb
— 𝙱𝚛𝚊𝚍 𝚆𝚑𝚊𝚛𝚝𝚘𝚗 (@MMABrad48) April 21, 2021

Expand Tweet

Rob Broughton fought in the UFC from 2010 to 2011

Nicknamed 'The Bear', Rob Broughton is an Englishman that competed in the heavyweight division as a professional MMA fighter. Broughton trained at the erstwhile Wolfslair MMA Academy in Liverpool. The gym has produced fighters like Quinton 'Rampage' Jackson and James Te Huna.

After starting his career on the European MMA circuit, Rob Broughton signed with the UFC in 2010. In a short three-fight stint in promotion, 'The Bear' defeated fellow debutant Vinicius Queiroz. He went on to drop two straight fights against Travis Browne and Phil De Fries in 2011.

Following multiple bout cancelations against Matt Mitrione due to undisclosed personal issues on Broughton's behalf, he was released from the UFC contract in 2012. Rob Broughton competed in professional MMA one more time in 2015 and retired with an overall record of 16 wins, 7 losses and 1 draw.