Dricus Du Plessis secured a win in the UFC middleweight title fight, much to the dismay of rapper Drake, who had bet $450,000 on Israel Adesanya to reclaim the title. This loss continues Drake’s infamous betting streak, which now stands at 17 wins and 189 losses, with nearly 92 percent of his bets failing.
Following his win, Du Plessis made humorous reference to Drake’s ill-fated bet on social media, writing: “From the bottom of my heart, THANK YOU again @Drake.” The comment has fed the persistent belief in the “Drake curse,” a notion that supporting the rapper often leads to the failure of the athletes he bets on or supports.
Adesanya struggled in the later rounds of the fight and eventually lost by submission to Du Plessis after a series of powerful punches and a rear-naked choke. Before the fight, Drake had publicly expressed his support for Adesanya, sharing an Instagram post with the caption “Always with Izzy,” but his support once again led to disappointment.
This isn’t the first time Drake has lost money betting on Adesanya. He previously bet nearly $2 million on Adesanya in a fight against Alex Pereira, only to see Adesanya get knocked out. Despite winning $400,000 in a rematch between Adesanya and Pereira, Drake’s luck is no longer on his side even after this latest loss.
Despite the intense rivalry leading up to the fight, Du Plessis showed good sportsmanship after his victory and apologized backstage to Adesanya’s parents for any injuries caused by the verbal abuse before the fight.
