UFC 171: Nikita Krylov drops to 205, replaces Thiago Silva against Ovince St. Preux on March 15 in Dallas

Well ... that didn't take very long.

Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) heavyweight prospect Nikita Krylov will abandon his post at 265 pounds to try his luck at light heavyweight, as the talented Russian import has agreed to step in on short notice to fight Ovince St. Preux at the UFC 171 pay-per-view (PPV) event, which takes place on March 15, 2014 at American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas.

Krylov (16-3), fresh off a first-round knockout over Walt Harris at UFC on FOX 10, will replace Thiago Silva, who was arrested for aggravated assault on Thursday night (Feb. 6, 2014) and subsequently released from the promotion. Find out how that mess went down right here.

Onward and upward.

St. Preux (14-5) has followed an impressive 5-1 run in Strikeforce with three consecutive victories inside the Octagon. Most recently, he scored a knockout win over Cody Donovan at UFC Fight Night 26, to go along with his decision win over Gian Villante at UFC 159.

10 of his 14 wins have not reached the judges' scorecards.

UFC 171 will feature a monster welterweight showdown between Johny Hendricks and Robbie Lawler for the vacant 170-pound title, following Georges St. Pierre's decision to step away from combat sports. In other main card action, fellow welterweight standouts Carlos Condit and Tyron Woodley, as well as Hector Lombard and Jake Shields, will all come to blows in "The Lone Star State."

For the entire UFC 171 fight card and line up click here. See the epic video preview of "Hendricks vs. Lawler" here.