The Drake curse has struck once again! The Canadian rapper backed a Israel Adesanya to beat Dricus du Plessis at UFC 305 on Saturday evening.
However, Plessis submitted Adesanya in the fourth round to defend his middleweight title and add a decisive new chapter to their intense rivalry.
The South African executed a rear naked choke to take the win after rocking the ‘Style Bender’ with a left hook and a series of rights before taking him down.
However, fans have taken to social media to blame Drake for Adesanya’s loss as the rapper bet $450,000 (£348,000) the 35-year-old would win and reclaim the 185-pound title.
Drake would have returned $855,000 if Adesanya won but he ended up losing and furthering the notion he is cursed when it comes to betting.
Drake has become well-known for his huge bets on sporting events over the last few years
Plessis submitted Adesanya in the fourth round to defend his middleweight title and add a decisive new chapter to their intense rivalry
The South African executed a rear naked choke to take the win after rocking the ‘Style Bender’ with a left hook and a series of rights before taking him down
Drake is reportedly 17-189 in sports bets, meaning he has lost 92 per cent of the bets in his life – according to Happy Punch.
The ‘Drake Curse’ has become a well-known superstition in the world of sports. It seems that whenever Drake publicly supports a particular athlete or team, disaster tends to follow, often resulting in unexpected losses or underperformance.
The Canadian rapper is a passionate sports fan, known for his affiliations with numerous athletes and teams across different sports, including basketball, football, and MMA.
From wearing certain team jerseys to betting on specific outcomes, Drake’s involvement in various sports has led to humorous and often eerie coincidences of failure.
The ‘Drake Curse’ began to pick up steam on social media as a recurring trend, and now, both fans and athletes alike sometimes react warily when Drake backs them publicly.
One of the earliest instances of the curse took place in 2014 when Drake was supporting tennis star Serena Williams. At the U.S. Open that year, Williams was expected to win and continue her dominant run, but she shockingly lost to unseeded Roberta Vinci in the semifinals.
Fans on social media were quick to point out the fact that Drake had been seen supporting Williams while sitting courtside, sparking the first rumblings of the infamous curse.
Over the years, many more incidents followed, solidifying the legend of the Drake Curse. In 2018, Drake was seen backing Conor McGregor ahead of his much-anticipated fight against Khabib Nurmagomedov at UFC 229.
McGregor, the favourite, ended up losing the fight in a fourth-round submission. Drake’s appearance with an Irish flag at the weigh-ins only fueled the notion that his support was bad luck.
Similarly, in the world of football, Drake’s curse struck again. In April 2019, Drake took a photo with Paris Saint-Germain’s Layvin Kurzawa ahead of their crunch match against Lille.
PSG, the dominant team in Ligue 1, suffered an embarrassing 5-1 defeat to Lille, marking one of their worst losses in recent memory. – with many pointing the finger at Drake.
Around the same time, Arsenal striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang also fell victim to the curse. After taking a photo with Drake, Arsenal lost 1-0 to Everton, putting a dent in their top-four ambitions.
The curse even extended to basketball. Drake, a global ambassador for the NBA’s Toronto Raptors, famously supported the Golden State Warriors during the 2016 NBA Finals.
Oleksandr Usyk defeated Tyson Fury back in May, costing Drake over half-a-million dollars
Drake has lost money because of the Argentina national soccer team on multiple occasions
Drake placed two bets on Odell Beckham Jr. during the Super Bowl in 2022, winning one
Despite being the favourites, the Warriors were defeated by the Cleveland Cavaliers, allowing LeBron James to complete an epic comeback. Ironically, Drake’s Raptors later overcame the curse themselves, winning the 2019 NBA Championship, though Drake’s vocal support during their run was nervously followed by fans.
More recently, the curse struck during the 2022 FIFA World Cup when Drake bet $1million on Argentina to win the final against France. Though Argentina did win the match, there was a moment of fear when France, trailing 2-0, made a shocking comeback to tie the game, sending it into extra time.
Argentina eventually prevailed on penalties, narrowly avoiding what would have been another entry in the curse’s history.
