Josh Rosenthal Sentenced to 37 Months in Prison for Charges Stemming From $6 Million Marijuana Bust


(“Alex, listen to me, you’re going to be alright. That weed you smoked was a new hybrid strain I’m working on. I call it…’The Nelmark‘.” / Photo via Getty)

Six months after pleading guilty to drug charges including conspiracy to manufacture and distribute marijuana and possession with intent to distribute, MMA referee Josh Rosenthal has been sentenced to 37 months in federal prison with no possibility of parole. MMAFighting.com confirmed the news with the office of Senior District Judge Saundra Brown Armstrong, who sentenced Rosenthal today in Oakland, California’s U.S. District Court. Rosenthal will also face three years of probation after being released from the clink.

In case you missed this story when it first broke, we’re not talking about a guy getting hassled for carrying a little weed. Rosenthal was secretly a big fish in the Bay Area marijuana-ecosystem, and owned a warehouse in Oakland containing over 1,300 marijuana plants. Federal agents raided the facility last year, putting the kibosh on an operation that was estimated to be worth $6 million.

Now, one of MMA’s most capable refs is heading to lockup. And yet Steve Mazzagatti is still at large. Just doesn’t seem fair, does it.


(“Alex, listen to me, you’re going to be alright. That weed you smoked was a new hybrid strain I’m working on. I call it…’The Nelmark‘.” / Photo via Getty)

Six months after pleading guilty to drug charges including conspiracy to manufacture and distribute marijuana and possession with intent to distribute, MMA referee Josh Rosenthal has been sentenced to 37 months in federal prison with no possibility of parole. MMAFighting.com confirmed the news with the office of Senior District Judge Saundra Brown Armstrong, who sentenced Rosenthal today in Oakland, California’s U.S. District Court. Rosenthal will also face three years of probation after being released from the clink.

In case you missed this story when it first broke, we’re not talking about a guy getting hassled for carrying a little weed. Rosenthal was secretly a big fish in the Bay Area marijuana-ecosystem, and owned a warehouse in Oakland containing over 1,300 marijuana plants. Federal agents raided the facility last year, putting the kibosh on an operation that was estimated to be worth $6 million.

Now, one of MMA’s most capable refs is heading to lockup. And yet Steve Mazzagatti is still at large. Just doesn’t seem fair, does it.