UFC not in favor of Israel Adesanya vs Sean Strickland, claims famed MMA journalist

It appears as though the UFC aren't in favor of booking Israel Adesanya vs. Sean Strickland as the headliner for UFC 293 on September 10 in Sydney, Australia.

Famed MMA journalist Ariel Helwani took to Twitter and responded to a question from a fan with regards to the promotion not booking the middleweight title fight, especially with Dricus du Plessis unable to compete in-time. He noted that the promotion don't have many options on such short-notice, but mentioned that both 'Izzy' and Strickland are willing to fight each other.

He wrote:

"In short, Adesanya wants to headline...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."

It's no secret that du Plessis was who the promotion anticipated would challenge 'The Last Stylebender', especially with their interaction at UFC 290. But with 'Stillknocks' unable to compete, 'Tarzan' would be a suitable opponent. With that in-mind, The MMA Hour noted that 'Izzy' wants to fight at the event and that du Plessis vs. Robert Whittaker was risky, writing:

"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)"

It will be interesting to see what the promotion do as the event is fast approaching and Strickland is the only top-ranked middleweight aside from du Plessis that hasn't challenged 'Izzy' yet.

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Israel Adesanya and Sean Strickland have history with each other

It seems puzzling that the UFC aren't capitalizing on the history between Israel Adesanya and Sean Strickland and booking the fight, especially with the limited options at 185lbs.

'Izzy' and Strickland had a memorable back-and-forth exchange on stage during the UFC 276 pre-fight press conference. 'Tarzan' took jibes at the middleweight champion and made reference to his knockout loss to Alex Pereira and asked for advice on what not to do when he fought him that weekend.

Strickland said:

"You don't want this guy as a champion!...Bro, I will walk outside with you right now!...Listen bro, you're gonna break a nail, calm down!...Hey 'Izzy', why don't you tell me what not to do...What should I do, take a fu**in nap?"