UFC 293 raised a few eyebrows as it ended with one of the biggest upsets in the promotion’s history. #5 ranked middleweight Sean Strickland went out and put in a clinical performance against Israel Adesanya and clenched the UFC middleweight title and the performance bonus. While doing so, he also brought bad news for the Canadian Rapper, Drake. The millionaire who is known for his huge bets lost $2,000,000 eight months ago in November 2022 betting on ‘Izzy’. Now, he has lost another massive amount as the Kiwi faced his only third loss in the promotion at UFC 293.
A huge section of the fanbase and even the experts were not giving Strickland much of a chance. However, due to his smart striking strategy, he won four out of five rounds and won the fight with a 49-46 score via unanimous decision. Whilst a subset of the fans would be happy with the upset, Adesanya’s defeat means the Canadian rapper has lost over $2 million in bets on him in less than a year.
Drake loses a massive bet on Israel Adesanya
The Canadian Millionaire and the Kiwi have shared a good bond over the recent years. Before the fight, Drake revealed that he had bet $500,000 on the former UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya showing his confidence in his friend and one of the greatest middleweight MMA fighter ever.
Despite taking the safer route unfortunately for the rapper, ‘The Last Stylebender‘ could not provide a return on his investment which resulted in a massive loss for him.
What’s more, the Kiwi was aware of the bet placed on him as he had responded to Drake’s Instagram post. Despite assuring the rapper about his focus, he could not come up with the goods during the fight.
Whilst Drake has a habit of placing bets on big fights and matches, there is a section of fans who believe that his backing works like a curse.
When Drake’s curse struck Adesanya
The former UFC middleweight champion was preparing for one of the biggest challenges of his career against Alex Pereira, back in November 2022 at UFC 281. Drake supported ‘Izzy’ by betting on him against a fighter who had already defeated him three times in combat sports by that point.
Drake did not hesitate to put a massive $2 million bet on Adesanya to break the shackles and defeat the Brazilian for the first time. However, Drake’s curse struck as the Kiwi lost in the final round with an insane knockout despite dominating the majority of the fight.
Whilst Drake has lost some huge bets, he recovered more than his loss on Izzy. Four months ago, the rapper made a staggering $2.7 million by predicting Adesanya’s win over Alex Pereira. However, due to the recent loss, it remains unclear whether the Canadian millionaire would choose to bet on his friend again.
