Earlier this year, Francis Ngannou left the world’s top MMA company, UFC, to pursue a career in boxing. He is now preparing for his debut, which reportedly will earn him over $10 million, in October against one of the finest boxers in the world, Tyson Fury. Because of his lack of boxing expertise, fans initially thought Ngannou stood little chance against the British champion. The prediction later strengthened for most of the fans as ‘The Predator’ has been doomed by the ‘Drake Curse.’
So, what exactly is the ‘Drake Curse’? It is a well-known phenomenon that many sports fans believe in. It very probably suggests that any athlete who meets or receives support from the famous Canadian rapper Drake will lose in his future competition.
Fans predicted the fate of Francis Ngannou after his meeting with Drake
Because of his years of domination in the UFC heavyweight class, Francis Ngannou is one of the most well-known names in the MMA industry. Therefore, despite quitting the biggest MMA promotion, his fame remained unaltered.
Following his departure from the UFC, Ngannou has traveled to meet various celebrities, including Portuguese great Cristiano Ronaldo, French sensation Kylian Mbappe, cricketer Babar Azam, and others. Similarly, he recently encountered Grammy-winning artist Drake.
God’s Plan ☝🏿 @Drake #FuryNgannou pic.twitter.com/PKZn1fNvfk
— Francis Ngannou (@francis_ngannou) September 4, 2023
The former UFC heavyweight champion posted about his meeting with the Canadian rapper on all his official social media accounts. On Twitter, Ngannou wrote in the caption, “God’s Plan.”
However, following his tweet, supporters were worried about the former UFC fighter, fearing he might succumb to the ‘Drake Curse.’ Check out a few comments from fans below:
https://twitter.com/StocktonSlap196/status/1698762667832361465?s=20
Why did you meet drake😭😭😭😭
That man got a curse— Ğhï§ĺãíñ⛑ IdipNebosh🇨🇲🇦🇪 (@Ghislaintweets) September 4, 2023
https://twitter.com/TKdey4U/status/1698766724647023070?s=20
Damn, you touch Drake you get cursed.
Sorry to say, you lost bro.— EAGLE (@TropojanEagle) September 4, 2023
Champ, the brother doesn't bring luck pic.twitter.com/kkkTBcqFIu
— AL£X@NDR€ (@NDOO_Alexandre) September 4, 2023
‘The Drake Curse’ in UFC
While many fans have witnessed the Drake curse’s influence in numerous sports, MMA fans have also observed it in the UFC. One of the best examples is when Drake backed Conor McGregor versus Khabib Nurmagomedov at UFC 229. ‘The Notorious’ eventually lost at UFC 229.
Similarly, when Israel Adesanya and Kamaru Usman both lost their UFC belts at UFC 281 and UFC 278, fans pointed out that Drake had supported the combatants.
However, fighters such as Paddy Pimblett have won while being backed by Drake on several occasions. Even Adesanya won his championship back at UFC 287, with Drake betting on him to win. As a result, the ‘Drake Curse’ is certainly a superstition fans believe in.
It is solely up to the fighters. As a result, Ngannou’s chances versus Fury should not be underestimated since he is one of the finest strikers in MMA. Ngannou is also undergoing coaching from boxing icon Mike Tyson, which will be extremely beneficial in this battle.
