Thiago Silva Withdraws from UFC Fight Night 35 Co-Main Event

Almost as quickly as it was announced, the UFC has had to retract the UFC Fight Night 35 co-main event bout between Thiago Silva and Ovince St. Preux.

UFC officials announced the bout on Wednesday night, but less than 24 hours later revealed that Silva is now out of the fight. They gave no explanation for Silva’s withdrawal.

After a rough 2012 that saw Silva (16-3, 2 NC) lose to Alexander Gustafsson and have a submission win over Stanislov Nedkov overtuned after testing positive for marijuana, Silva has put together back-to-back wins.

He knocked out Rafael Cavalcante in June and soundly defeated Matt Hamill in his last outing on Oct. 9.

St. Preux (11-5) is riding a three-fight winning streak, knocking out Cody Donovan in his last fight on Aug. 17. The 30-year-old has only lost once since 2010 and has an 11-1 record in his last twelve outings.

With the event more than two months away, it is likely that UFC officials will be able to secure a replacement and keep St. Preux on the card.

UFC Fight Night 35 takes place at The Arena at Gwinnett Center in Duluth, Ga., on Jan. 15. The event is headlined by a middleweight match-up between former Strikeforce champion Luke Rockhold and Constantinos “Costa” Philippou.