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WSOF decides to pay Mutapcic, Taylor despite last-minute fight cancellation

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By Ariel Helwani
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World Series of Fighting
Despite not fighting Saturday night, both Elvis Mutapcic and Jesse Taylor will get paid for their efforts.

World Series of Fighting executive vice president Ali Abdel-Aziz confirmed with MMAFighting.com that the promotion will pay both debuting fighters their show money, even though they didn't fight at WSOF 5, which was held at the Revel Resort & Casino in Atlantic City, N.J.

The middleweight fight was canceled when a member of the New Jersey Athletic Control Board accused Mutapcic of taking a pill in the locker room moments before the fight that he wasn't cleared to take. Mutapcic denied taking the medication, which he said was for one of his cornermen who had a heart issue, however, his pleas to save the fight fell on deaf ears because the commission decided to scrap it during the main card broadcast on NBCSN.

Later that night, just for the record, Mutapcic took his own drug test to prove his innocence, according MMAJunkie.com.

"We're dealing with this matter internally, but the team decided it was only fair to pay both fighters," Abdel-Aziz said.

In a statement to MMAMania.com, the NJSACB stood by its decision to cancel the fight.

The plan, at least for now, is to re-book Mutapcic-Taylor for later this year. The fight was part of a four-man middleweight tournament to crown the promotion's first 185-poind champion. Dave Branch defeated Danillio Villefort in the other semi-final fight on Saturday night.

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