Well-known and respected MMA referee Josh Rosenthal will serve 37 months in federal prison after pleading guilty to serious marijuana distribution and conspiracy to manufacture charges in California, MMA Fighting reports.

Parole is not an option, so the 37-month sentence is mandatory. MMA Fighting confirmed the sanctions with the office of Senior District Judge Saundra Brown Armstrong, who sentenced Rosenthal.

Rosenthal, a top referee pick among UFC fighters, was arrested in 2012 after federal agents raided an Oakland warehouse owned by Rosenthal and a friend.

The warehouse contained over 1,000 marijuana plants, which federal officials said were worth over $6 million.

A long-time student of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, Rosenthal has not publicly addressed his legal troubles, though he recently changed his Twitter avatar to a picture that reads: “What defines us is how well we rise after falling.”

Rosenthal was the third man in the cage for epic battles such as Brock Lesnar vs. Shane Carwin at UFC 116 (where Lesnar unified the heavyweight championship), Anderson Silva’s Hail Mary submission against Chael Sonnen at UFC 117 and Dan Henderson and Mauricio Rua’s “Fight of the Year” effort at UFC 139.

While he has not refereed a fight in over a year, Rosenthal briefly served as a guess commentator at the inaugural WAR MMA show in Stockton, California late last month.