The upcoming UFC 305 middleweight title clash between Dricus Du Plessis and Israel Adesanya has built up a lot of heat. After losing his belt to Sean Strickland in a massive upset at UFC 293 in 2023, ‘The Last Stylebender’ announced that he’d be taking a hiatus from the sport. Tensions between him and Du Plessis have already reached a fever pitch stemming from ‘Stillknocks’ previous comments about what it means to be an ‘African champion’ in the UFC.
However, there’s another challenge that Adesanya might have to overcome in this bout, the infamous ‘Drake Curse’. The Canadian rapper is known for a bizarre phenomenon that happens when he bets on sporting events and his supported team/athlete ends up falling short. This time around, Drake has put his bet on Adesanya walking away from UFC 305 a champion once more!
In a recent post shared on Instagram, Drake shared an image of his bet on the UFC 305 middleweight title showdown with the caption, “Always with Izzy”. According to the post, Drake has put up $450,000 on Adesanya to be victorious and if his pick comes through, the rapper will secure an estimated payout of a whopping $855,000!
Drake just risked almost half a million on Adesanya! React!
But what about the ‘Drake Curse’? The phenomenon is almost a legend amongst the online community at this point. Renowned for placing bets on sports ranging from the UFC to basketball and beyond, the Canadian music icon has been very unlucky with a lot of his picks ending up losing which has lent more weight to the ‘curse’ in the minds of the fandom. According to a report shared on ‘XXLMag.com’, Drake has lost an estimated $7 million already due to his picks not coming through!
When Tyson Fury took on Oleksandr Usyk earlier this year in February, Drake had put up $565,000 on ‘The Gypsy King’ to defend his undisputed heavyweight crown. Usyk managed to win a split-decision victory and Fury became another victim of the ‘curse’.
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But Israel Adesanya’s rival, Alex Pereira seemingly broke the ‘curse’ at UFC 300 when he defended his light heavyweight title against Jamahal Hill. Reports had revealed that Drake had bet $675,000 on Pereira to win and the Brazilian star made sure the rapper won a spectacular $1,194,750 for his wager.
However, for ‘The Last Stylebender’s fight against Strickland at UFC 293, the Canadian star had lost $500,000 due to ‘Tarzan’s odd-defying performance on the night. It remains to be seen if UFC 305 will turn out differently for Adesanya but during the recent pre-fight press conference, the former middleweight champion made an emotional proclamation towards Dricus Du Plessis!
The UFC 305 clash for the middleweight title has become more than just a battle for the belt. At the pre-fight press conference for the event, Du Plessis and Adesanya got into a heated exchange when the former champion detailed his post-fight plans, expressing a desire to return to Nigeria, then visit South Africa, and finally head back to New Zealand. Du Plessis interrupted with a biting comment as he fired a shot by stating, “Are you taking the servants with you?”
The remark apparently touched a nerve as Adesanya responded by exclaiming, “What the f*** are you talking about? Shut the f*** up, you don’t know anything about my story, you have no idea who the f*** I am.” But the emotional rollercoaster didn’t end there. When asked another question, Adesanya broke down in tears. “I do this for my family,” he confessed, his voice cracking as he pointed to his parents in the crowd. ‘The Last Stylebender’ then made it clear that his tears didn’t signify weakness and warned his opponent that, “…I’m going to kill your dreams b*tch, I’m gonna f**king kill your dreams.”
Will Adesanya’s fierce determination be enough to defy the odds and the ‘Drake Curse’ looming over him? Or will Dricus Du Plessis, riding the wave of his own confidence, capitalize on this psychological warfare to cement his first title defense in the middleweight division? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below!
