What an absolute war it turned out to be–exactly as both fighters predicted from the beginning. Despite putting everything into the fight, the effort from Sean Strickland didn’t prove enough to defend the middleweight title, as Dricus Du Plessis became the new champion via a split decision. Adding to the conversation, Canadian musician Drake, who bet $700,000 on Strickland, is now facing trolling on social media due to his infamous curse and is being blamed for ‘Tarzan’s’ loss.
Drake, renowned for betting across various sports from the NBA to boxing, frequently places bets on UFC fights. This time, he had the opportunity to secure an incredible $1.3 million if he won. However, his $700,000 bet ended up yielding nothing as Strickland lost against Du Plessis. And now that he lost his bet, once again fans on the internet are trolling him to curse Strickland with his bet.
Sean Strickland after hearing Drake bet 700k on him & cursing him:#UFC297 pic.twitter.com/zsUAe7lGzg
— Rainy (@therainvvs) January 21, 2024
https://twitter.com/juanniboii/status/1748958569322471446?s=46&t=OkCD820TcQoXWiWIefry3w
#Drake bet 700k in #Strickland, you know #Dricus is winning this…#StricklandvsDuPlessis #ufc297 #UFC297live pic.twitter.com/IExvvwqgYh
— Masi (@GomomoM) January 21, 2024
Drake curse strikes again #UFC297 he cursed Strickland pic.twitter.com/7SjrlcjM8E
— callumbutnot (@callumbutnot) January 21, 2024
I HATE DRAKE BRO NO 🤬🤬🤬 STRICKLAND WAS SUPPOSED TO WIN @ drake pic.twitter.com/aZNadnL8sw
— 🇲🇽Chiquilin’s Boxing🥊 (@JJJBoxing) January 21, 2024
Sorry but when I saw Drake bet on Strickland I knew it was coming home 😂🇿🇦
— Liam 🇵🇸 (@liamthelloyd) January 21, 2024
Oh God. Drake bet 700k on Sean Strickland. Jesus pic.twitter.com/V2AXR6PVlU
— Donny (@iFUXwMMA) January 21, 2024
There are many on the internet who believe in the correlation between Drake’s support and athlete’s losing matches. Notable names like Israel Adesanya and Justin Gaethje have experienced defeats when backed by Drake. Consequently, fans are now labeling Strickland as another victim of the infamous curse.
Fans blaming Drake for Strickland’s loss is just one of the wild theories of the internet. The so-called Drake Curse is more of a jest than a reality; given the fact not every time he bets, athletes lose. In fact, Drake has won significant money with his bets, proving the curse to be not real.
Drake Dismissed Curse Theory After Bagging $1.7 Million from Jon Jones UFC Fight
Talking about the curse, the Canadian rapper ultimately dismissed the theory at UFC 285 when Jon Jones submitted Ciryl Gane in the very first round of the fight. Drake placed two bets on the American fighter, $250,000 on Jones, to win via submission, and another $250,000 on a knockout. And as Jone secured the win by submission, Drake secured a substantial $1.7 million.
DRAKE JUST WON $1.7M ON JON JONES 🤯 pic.twitter.com/NBAqNv9pW0
— br_betting (@br_betting) March 5, 2023
So, it is clear that fans on the internet, who love to mock and troll in jest, started this theory. But, in the end, it is all not real, as seen with his huge win with Jones. And he has won on numerous occasions. Unfortunately, he wasn’t lucky to win this time.