Drake missed out on an enormous £740,000 payout after betting on Israel Adesanya to retain his UFC middleweight title only to see him suffer a shock defeat to Sean Strickland at UFC 293. Drake is renowned for his mega bets on sporting events, with fans reacting as he often loses – but sometimes wins – hundreds of thousands of pounds.
Drake’s latest bet was placed on Adesanya to knockout Strickland in the main event, but he lost out on a six-figure payout as the American produced a massive upset to win via unanimous decision. Drake has been ridiculed in the past for his betting mishaps when it comes to sport, with the notion of the ‘Drake curse’ emerging following a run of incredibly bad luck.
The infamous ‘Drake curse’ went viral after fans noticed the multi-platinum recording artist had endured a horrendous streak of betting on the wrong fighters, athletes and sports teams in major events particularly after he shows his support online. The luck has been particularly poor when it comes to the combat arena; back in March 2022, Drake placed a mammoth bet on Jorge Masvidal to beat Colby Covington but the latter crushed his bitter rival.
It didn’t stop the rapper doubling down two months later and placing a larger £440,000 on Justin Gaethje to defeat Charles Oliveira, only for him to lose once again. He was unlucky on Saturday night as Strickland pulled off the stunning upset win.
After the victory, Strickland said: “Is this my f****** dream, I am going to wake up? Somebody hit me, oh my god you guys. Never in a million years did I think I would be here. I don’t cry much but I’m trying to keep my s*** together right now.
“I gave up so many brain cells to the MMA gods every day. The gold around my waist don’t mean s***. How you live your life means more.”
Drake still would have lost his bet had Adesanya either won by submission or points as his bet was only for the former champion to win via knockout. It makes sense that Drake returned to backing Adesanya; he won £2.16 million when Adesanya reclaimed the gold against Alex Pereira back in April.
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After a bad few months of betting, Drake also snapped his poor run of form by winning £800,000 when Adesanya defended his belt against Jared Cannonier. Drake’s six-figure bets continued to pay off when Paddy Pimblett and Molly McCann won their respective fights at UFC London, securing a £2.9 million payday for the award-winning rapper.
Drake’s ‘curse’ is not just linked to combat sports though, with fans ridiculing the rapper for being behind Manchester City’s stunning Champions League collapse against Tottenham Hotspur in 2019. City were on the verge of chasing a maiden final in the tournament when a number of their players took a photo with Drake just days before their poor performance.
More recently, Drake bet £800,000 on Argentina to defeat France in regulation time at the World Cup final – only for Lionel Messi to lead the team to a dramatic penalty shootout victory. Despite plenty of high-profile losses – including backing Jake Paul to knock out Tommy Fury with a £320,000 wager back in December – Drake clearly remains undeterred when it comes to betting.
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