The clock is ticking for Israel Adesanya and UFC 293.

Adesanya is expected to headline the UFC 293 pay-per-view event taking place Sept. 9 in Sydney, Australia. He was initially slated to defend his middleweight title against Dricus du Plessis, who defeated Robert Whittaker at UFC 290 earlier this month.

However, the turnaround is too soon for Du Plessis who was already banged up going into the Whittaker fight. And so, it looked like Sean Strickland would get the golden ticket after being personally earmarked by Adesanya.

That said, it's been a week since Adesanya called to fight Strickland and there's been no update from the UFC's side. And according to MMA reporter Ariel Helwani, that's because the UFC is not too keen on the matchup.

“In short, Adesanya wants to headline,” Helwani responded to a fan asking for an update. “DDP is hurt. Strickland wants in. Adesanya wants it. UFC isn’t so keen on it. Clock is ticking. Game of chicken. Not many options on 5-6 weeks notice.

“Not sure what the issue is with Izzy x Strickland. Strickland is next man up at 6.”

Helwani went on to add that Adesanya has been one of the most reliable champions in the UFC and so, if he wanted Strickland, the Las Vegas-based promotion should abide.

“Along with Volk, Izzy has been the most reliable and dependable champ since DJ,” Helwani wrote. “And arguably the most popular active fighter right now. He wants to fight near his home for the first time in a while. It’s a layup. (Also, this is why the DDP x Whittaker fight in July was too risky).”

Perhaps the UFC feel Strickland is undeserving of a title fight given that he's only ranked No. 6 in the middleweight rankings. Or maybe they even feel the build-up could go out of control given Strickland's more than outspoken nature.

That said, there's no other option out there. At least one that hasn't fought and lost to Adesanya already.