Nine-fight UFC Veteran Paul Kelly has been sentenced to 13 years in jail after being convicted as the ringleader of a heroine trafficking operation, according to the Liverpool Echo.

Kelly, a native of Liverpool, England, had his legal troubles begin after police raids in December 2011 until May 2012 led authorities to believe that Kelly and a childhood friend had been running a heroin ring.

He was convicted by the Liverpool Crown Court on May 17 and was sentenced last week.

Judge Mark Brown was quoted in the Liverpool Echo as saying:

"In my judgment you decided to supply Class A drugs when your contract with UFC was terminated. You obviously enjoyed the high life and saw selling heroin as an easy way to make money."

After going 7-0 as a professional mixed martial artist on the regional scene in England, Kelly won his octagon debut against fellow Englishman Paul Taylor at UFC 80 in January 2008.

Kelly never ended up being a star inside the cage though, losing decisively to each “name” opponent he faced such as Marcus Davis, Dennis Siver, Jacob Volkmann and Donald Cerrone.

Despite a modest 5-4 record under the UFC banner, Kelly earned two “Fight of the Night” bonuses and told the court he earned nearly $100,000 a year during his roughly three-year tenure with the company.

Kelly is 28-years-old and also the father of two children.