Thiago Silva scratches from UFC Fight Night 35 co-main opposite Ovince St. Preux
Less than 24 hours after it was announced, a light heavyweight bout between Thiago Silva and Ovince St. Preux at UFC Fight Night 35 is no more.
UFC officials today tweeted that Silva was forced to withdraw from the co-main event fight for undisclosed reasons. With plenty of time until event, a search for a replacement should be underway.
UFC Fight Night 35 takes place Jan. 15 at Arena at Gwinnett Center in Duluth, Ga., outside of Atlanta. The event’s broadcast details have yet to be determined, but the main card likely will air on FOX Sports 1 following prelims on MMAjunkie.com.
The event is headlined by a middleweight matchup between former Strikeforce champ Luke Rockhold and Constantinos Philippou.
In his most recent performance at UFC Fight Night 29, Silva earned his second straight win in the UFC with a dominant decision over Matt Hamill. Previously, he knocked out rival Rafael Cavalcante at UFC on FUEL TV 10, which likely saved his job after a rocky 1-3 stretch with two no contests courtesy of drug test failures.
Strikeforce vet St. Preux picked up his second straight win in the UFC by knocking out Cody Donovan at UFC Fight Night 26. In his promotional debut against Gian Villante at UFC 159, he earned a technical decision when Villante was unable to continue following an accidental eyepoke.
With the addition of the new bout, the UFC Fight Night 35 card now includes:
Constantinos Philippou vs. Luke Rockhold
Cole Miller vs. Sam Sicilia
T.J. Dillashaw vs. Mike Easton
Ovince St. Preux vs. TBA
