Thiago Silva Withdraws from UFC Fight Night 35 Co-Headliner Against Ovince St. Preux

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Just one day after the UFC Fight Night 35 co-main event was announced, it has been ripped in two.

UFC officials announced Thursday that Thiago Silva has withdrawn from his planned light heavyweight showdown against Ovince St. Preux. No reason was given for the change.

A new co-headliner is expected to be announced for the Jan. 15 event, which takes place at The Arena at Gwinnett Center in Duluth, Ga., and airs live on Fox Sports 1. UFC Fight Night 35 is topped by a pivotal middleweight clash pitting former Strikeforce titlist Luke Rockhold against the heavy-handed Costas Philippou.

Silva, 31, has won two straight fights after posting two defeats and two no-contests in his previous four. The Brazilian expat kicked off 2013 with a first-round knockout of Rafael Cavalcante but then failed to make weight for his October meeting with Matt Hamill. Nevertheless, the 31-year-old walked away with a unanimous decision win over “The Hammer” in their catch-weight bout at UFC Fight Night 29.

St. Preux has won 11 of his last 12 bouts, with his only loss in that span coming to former Strikeforce titlist Gegard Mousasi. The former University of Tennessee Volunteer has gone 2-0 in the Octagon so far, scoring a controversial technical decision over Gian Villante this past April before knocking out Cody Donovan at UFC Fight Night 26.