LAS VEGAS – Dana White said Thursday that if he were to implement year-round, random drug testing of his approximately 475 contracted fighters, more than 80 percent of them might wind up being suspended.

The drug he's concerned about, though, is not what you might think.

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The outspoken UFC president reiterated his long-held position that drug testing by state athletic commissions is sufficient to police the sport. When pressed if he's considering a random, year-round drug screening process to try to eradicate performance-enhancing drugs from the UFC, White said he is not certain. He said it is something he's never considered previously.

Then, he conceded he's worried about a slew of positive tests if he did adopt such a regimen.

"Forget about PEDs," White said. "If we get into this system that we're talking about where we would randomly test these guys, do you know how many guys would probably test positive for marijuana? It would be probably off the charts.

"If you randomly test them and then [the results] came out, you'd get the exact same suspension [for using marijuana] as you do for using PEDs."

[Also: Cain Velasquez anxious to exact revenge on Junior dos Santos]

UFC matches are regulated in the U.S. by the state athletic commissions where the events are held. In Canada, they're regulated by the provincial governments. In parts of the world where there are no commissions, the UFC appoints Marc Ratner, its vice president of regulatory affairs, to regulate the shows and test the fighters.

Generally, fighters in the main event and in all championship fights are tested for performance-enhancing drugs and so-called drugs of abuse such as cocaine and marijuana.

Keith Kizer, the executive director of the Nevada Athletic Commission, has been testing larger numbers of fighters after events in recent months. That has led to five drug-related offenses in boxing and mixed martial arts in November and December, he said.

Kizer has increasingly drug tested all of the fighters on a given card. Kizer will oversee UFC 155 on Saturday at the MGM Grand Garden and will choose which fighters are screened in addition to heavyweight title combatants Junior dos Santos and Cain Velasquez.

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There is no formal prescribed penalty for fighters who fail their tests, though Nevada has been suspending fighters for six months on a first offense for marijuana usage and nine months for steroid use.

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