Nikita Krylov Drops to Light Heavyweight, Faces Ovince St. Preux at UFC 171

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It didn’t take long to find a replacement opponent for Ovince St. Preux at UFC 171.

The UFC announced on Friday that Nikita Krylov will drop to light heavyweight and face the Strikeforce veteran on March 15. St. Preux was briefly left without an opponent when Thiago Silva, his original foe, was released by the promotion following his Thursday arrest.

UFC 171 takes place at the American Airlines Arena in Dallas and is headlined by a welterweight title bout between Johny Hendricks and Robbie Lawler. The card also includes another key welterweight duel pitting Carlos Condit against Tyron Woodley.

Krylov ‘s first two Octagon appearances came at heavyweight. He made his debut at UFC 164, falling to Soa Palelei via third-round TKO. He rebounded on Jan. 26, knocking out Walt Harris in 25 seconds at UFC on Fox 10. The 21-year-old Ukrainian weighed in at just 218 pounds prior to facing Harris.

St. Preux has won his last three fights, including his first two inside the Octagon. The former University of Tennessee football player last competed at UFC Fight Night 26, where he scored a first-round knockout of Cody Donovan.