Jul. 17—Why Albuquerque's Steve Garcia had to win six fights in a row (five by knockout) to break into the UFC featherweight rankings remains a puzzling question.

But break into them he has. He's No. 11, tied for that spot with Dan Ige, in the latest UFC rankings, released this week after his victory by unanimous decision Saturday in Nashville, Tennessee over respected veteran Calvin Kattar.

Garcia's entry into the rankings was considered a given after the Kattar fight, but to debut at No. 11 could be seen as a pleasant surprise — and perhaps a reward for having had to wait so long.

The Albuquerque southpaw is 18-5 overall, 7-2 in UFC competition. He trains at Jackson-Wink MMA.

PICO'S DEBUT DELAYED: There was bad news for Jackson-Wink, as well. J-W featherweight Aaron Pico's much-anticipated UFC debut, scheduled for July 26, is off for the time being.

Pico (13-4) was to have faced unbeaten (19-0) Russian Movsar Evloev on a UFC Fight Night card in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. For reasons as yet unexplained, Evloev has dropped out.

"Not going to sugarcoat it. I'm pretty disappointed you pulled out of this one," Pico wrote on Instagram, directing his post to Evloev, the UFC's No. 1 challenger to the title held by Alexander Volkanovski. "I get that things happen, and I truly hope whatever's going on, you recover quickly."

Pico wrote that he's hoping the fight can be rescheduled for UFC 319 in Chicago on Aug. 16, but there's been no word from Evloev or the UFC as to whether that's a possibility.

That the UFC was willing to put Pico into the Octagon against Evloev for his debut in the organization clearly speaks to the esteem in which the California native is held.

That Pico accepted the fight speaks as loudly to the confidence he brings into the UFC.

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