Nikita Krylov drops to 205, replaces Thiago Silva at UFC 171

Fresh off a 25-second upset of heavyweight Walt Harris, Nikita Krylov (16-3 MMA, 1-1 UFC) is dropping to light heavyweight to replace recently arrested Thiago Silva (16-3 MMA, 7-3 UFC) at UFC 171.

UFC officials today announced the switch, which sees Krylov take on fellow 205-pounder Ovince St. Preux (14-5 MMA, 2-0 UFC) at the event.

UFC 171 takes place March 15 at Dallas’ American Airlines Center. The main card airs on pay-per-view following prelims on FOX Sports 1 and UFC Fight Pass.

It’s not clear where Krylov vs. St. Preux will be placed on the lineup.

Silva was dropped from the card following Thursday’s arrest and incarceration, which followed a police standoff. The UFC subsequently terminated Silva’s contract.

In his place steps Krylov, who weighed just 218 pounds for his January bout with Harris. After the win, the Ukrainian fighter said he planned to drop to light heavyweight. A fight prior, he made his UFC debut and suffered a TKO loss to Soa Palelei. It was the first knockout loss of his two-year career, which has included 16 stoppages (10 submissions) in 16 career wins.

Meanwhile, St. Preux has followed an impressive 5-1 run in Strikeforce with back-to-back wins in the UFC octagon. Most recently, the former University of Tennessee linebacker scored a knockout win over Cody Donovan to go along with his UFC-debut win over Gian Villante. He today today told MMAjunkie he was hopeful he’d remain on the UFC 171 card despite losing Silva as his opponent.

The latest UFC 171 card now includes:

• Johny Hendricks vs. Robbie Lawler - for vacant welterweight title
• Carlos Condit vs. Tyron Woodley
• Myles Jury vs. Diego Sanchez
• Hector Lombard vs. Jake Shields
• Nikita Krylov vs. Ovince St. Preux
• Kelvin Gastelum vs. Rick Story
• Jessica Andrade vs. Raquel Pennington
• Dennis Bermudez vs. Jimy Hettes
• Alex Garcia vs. Sean Spencer
• Will Campuzano vs. Justin Scoggins
• Renee Forte vs. Frank Trevino
• Robert McDaniel vs. Tor Troeng
• Daniel Pineda vs. Robert Whiteford

For the latest on UFC 171, stay tuned to the UFC Rumors section of the site.