Former Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) welterweight titleholder Georges St. Pierre was recently featured in NY Times. Unfortunately, it wasn't for his exploits as one of the world's most gifted mixed martial arts (MMA) fighters.

Instead, "Rush" -- alongside Hollywood icon Leonardo DiCaprio -- was photoed with longtime pal Jimmy Cournoyer, who just so happens to be the biggest pot dealer in New York City history. Kind of a strange association, considering St. Pierre's crusade to end drug use in MMA.

From NYTimes.com:

Starting in the mid-2000s, Mr. Cournoyer managed the shipment of man-size bales of hydroponically grown pot across the border on motorboats and snowmobiles. Nearly $1 billion of his cash was laundered through the Sinaloa drug cartel or was ferried back to Canada in pickup trucks equipped with secret traps in their radios and gas tanks. "We never saw anything like this guy before," said Steven L. Tiscione, a federal prosecutor in New York who supervised the task force that broke the case. "In terms of his longevity and scope, and the connections he had around the world, nothing, nobody, comes close." At the height of his success, Mr. Cournoyer, who is now 34 and is awaiting placement in the federal prison system, drove a Porsche Cayenne and a $2 million limited-edition Bugatti Veyron. He was friends with Georges St. Pierre, a mixed-martial arts fighter, and dated a lingerie model. His social circle was configured such that once, on a trip to Ibiza, he attended the same party as Leonardo DiCaprio.

Cournoyer, who could be eligible for parole by 2021, was sentenced to 27 years following last month's guilty plea, one-third of which must be served in United States before (possibly) being transferred to Canada.

St. Pierre was criticized by fight fans for siding with the drug kingpin and "Rush" later apologized, but candidly told his supporters he didn't want to abandon a friend in need and believes everyone should have a chance at "redemption."

For more on the "King of Pot" and his friendship with St. Pierre click here.

More from sbnation.com: