Champ Demetrious Johnson, Chris Cariaso randomly drug tested ahead of UFC 178 title fight

UFC champion Demetrious Johnson and challenger Chris Cariaso underwent random blood and urine drug tests at the behest of the Nevada Athletic Commission (NAC) last week ahead of their scheduled UFC 178 flyweight title fight, MMAFighting.com's Ariel Helwani reported on Wednesday's episode of UFC Tonight.

Johnson (20-2-1), the only 125-pound champion the promotion has ever known, will be looking to defend his belt for a fifth consecutive time when he fights Cariaso (17-5) in the main event of the September 27 pay-per-view, which is slated to take place at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, NV.

NAC Chairman Francisco Aguilar declined to elaborate on whether Johnson and Cariaso will be subject to further random testing ahead of the event later this month, but did tell Helwani that "every fighter is subject to random testing including those who may not have a license today but are scheduled to fight on 178," likely referencing the legal loophole Wanderlei Silva is attempting to exploit in order to avoid punishment for skipping out on a commission mandated random drug test on May 24.

Johnson's previous opponent, Ali Bagautinov, submitted to similar out-of-competition drug testing two weeks out from his June title challenge at UFC 174 in June.

Johnson ultimately outclassed Bagautinov en route to a unanimous decision win, however following the event it was revealed that the hard-hitting Dagestani tested positive for Recombinant Human Erythropoietin (EPO), a banned substance believed to hold an extremely short detection window and commonly used as a method to increase athlete stamina and endurance.

Bagautinov received a one-year suspension as a result of the failed test.

"The moral of this story is that I proved on June 14 that you don't need to cheat, you don't need PEDs to be a champion," Johnson told MMAFighting.com at the time. "I am proud to be a clean champion and I believe that talent will beat drugs every time out, just like it did last month in Vancouver."