Multi-award winning rapper Drake continued his run of extravagant bets on sporting events by placing stakes worth close to £725,000 ($900,000) during the UFC middleweight title fight between Israel Adesanya and Alex Pereira.
Adesanya regained the 185lb title just months after he had lost it to his fierce rival Pereira as the Brazilian triumphed at UFC 281 in November 2022.
The 36-year-old had two separate bets in play worth over £323,000 ($400,000) each in the early hours of Sunday morning on both Adesanya to beat Pereira and for Adesanya to win by knockout.
The Canadian artist won £2.17 million ($2.7m) from his two high stakes bets as Adesanya went on to record a crushing second round knockout in Miami.
Adesanya forced Pereira to the canvas with a brutal right after recovering from a rocky start and series of blows in the opening round.
Drake placed bets worth over £1.12 million on four bets over two fights during UFC 287
His stakes on the fight were worth over £725,000 combined, landing him £2.2million
Adesanya landed a second round knock out to regain the title from his bitter rival Alex Pereira
When Adesanya and Pereira met previously at UFC 281, Drake lost £1.28 million ($1.6m) backing the former, who went on to lose to the Brazilian on the first time of asking.
Fortunes went the other way during the rematch as Drake went home with a seven-figure sum in winnings.
Speaking after the fight, Adesanya said: ‘Shoutout to everyone that bet on me but you have to realise that when I step into the octagon I put my life on the line. That’s the biggest parlay you can ever do.
‘I’m a betting man too so shoutout to stake, we are about to make another deal and get more money.’
On the night Drake had lodged two other losing bets worth over £400,000 ($500,000) on Jorge Masvidal to defeat Gilbert Burns by knockout.
Masvidal went on to announce his retirement from UFC after falling to defeat against Burns by unanimous decision.
Drake has previously made a series of lavish, high profile bets which have resulted in his losing several million in stakes.
The Canadian lost £335,000 ($400,000) after gambling on Jake Paul to knock out Tommy Fury during their bout in Saudi Arabia at the beginning of March.
Drake most recently lost £335,000 after backing Jake Paul to beat Tommy Fury via knockout
Drake lost £335,000 after betting on Jake Paul to knock out Tommy Fury during their Saudi Arabia bout
He also placed a bet worth over £800,000 ($1 million) on Argentina to win the World Cup final within 90 minutes, although the eventual win on penalties meant Drake faced another eye-watering loss.
On UFC, Drake has faced losing bets on Masvidal worth £230,000 ($275,000) during UFC 271 and a further £357,000 ($427,000) when he incorrectly backed Justin Gaethje to beat Charles Oliveira at UFC 274.
Drake lost another £335,000 betting on Tommy Fury vs Jake Paul, as well as £837,000 on the World Cup final and £1.7MILLION on one UFC fight… so, how much has the rapper won or lost – and is his backing truly a curse?
Multi-award winning superstar Drake is known for his record-breaking music albums but alongside his rapping exploits, he has picked up a quite staggering betting habit.
The Canadian rapper has gained further fame for posting his outrageous stakes to his 132million Instagram followers.
From boxing to NFL, UFC to basketball, football to baseball and even Formula One, Drake has covered a substantial variety of sports with his wild Bitcoin stakes through crypto casino Stake – which he joined under the name DeepPockets6 in December 2021.
At times, Drake has raked in millions, but the rapper has also managed to pick up the reputation of bringing a curse down on those who he backs. The ‘Drake curse’ has fast become a phenomenon in sport, with numerous teams and athletes losing an upcoming sporting event after coming into contact with him.
With that in mind, Sportsmail takes a look at the good, the bad and the ugly of Drake’s betting madness.
DRAKE BACKS PAUL TO KNOCK FURY OUT
The 36-year-old rapper most recently made headlines for his audacious £335,000 ($400,000) stake on Jake Paul knocking Tommy Fury out last Sunday.
Unfortunately for Drake, Brit Fury defeated American Paul via a split decision in Saudi Arabia, leaving the rapper’s pockets significantly less filled.
Drake had backed the former YouTuber to beat the Love Island star by KO to the tune of six figures at 3.6/1, in a huge bet which would have netted him more than £1.2million ($1.44m) if it had come off.
But the result means he has now lost his sensational stake – with Paul jokingly blaming the ‘curse’ of Drake for losing the fight.
WORLD CUP HEARTBREAK FOR DRAKE
Many thought that the Drake curse was broken when the rapper backed Argentina to win the World Cup final against France.
Drake put £837,000 ($1m) down on Argentina to win and would have stood to win more than £2.26m ($2.75m) had Lionel Messi’s side won in normal time.
Although Argentina ultimately triumphed on penalties, a technicality saw Drake facing another substantial loss.
Drake must have thought he was set for millions when Messi and Angel Di Maria put Argentina 2-0 up in the first-half. But a late brace from Kylian Mbappe forced extra-time and put an end to Drake’s hopes of a major win.
Drake backed Argentina to win the World Cup final but he lost £837,000 because they did not win in normal time
Drake lost his £837,000 ($1million) on Argentina to beat France in normal time in the World Cup final
DRAKE’S LOVE-AFFAIR WITH UFC
The 36-year-old has had his fair share of wild UFC bets – and it hasn’t always gone to plan.
In March last year, Drake lost £230,000 ($275,000) after backing Jorge Masvidal to beat Colby Covington at UFC 272 in Las Vegas. The odds for Drake’s specific punt were unclear, but Covington started a general 2/7 favourite with Masvidal the 5/2 underdog.
Unfortunately for the rapper, underdog Masvidal suffered defeat by a unanimous decision – prompting Covington to urge Drake to go back to ‘selling those s***** albums to get back the money’.
Drake’s misery was compounded just two months later when he lost another £357,000 ($427,000) when he incorrectly backed Justin Gaethje to beat Charles Oliveira at UFC 274.
Things did better for Drake later that year, notably when he won a staggering £826,000 ($1m) when Israel Adesanya beat Jared Cannonier.
Drake lost a a breathtaking £1.7m ($2m) after backing Israel Adesanya to beat Brazilian Alex Pereira at UFC 281
Drake shared images of his seven-figure bet that he placed on Adesanya on Saturday
And ten days later, the Canadian rapper won a sensational £3m ($3.72m) at UFC London after Paddy Pimblett and Molly McCann both picked up stoppage wins.
Drake placed a stake of £1.9m ($2.3m) on the Liverpool duo to win their respective fights in London and to mark their victories, he bought the two fighters a Rolex each.
The next month though, Drake went back to losing after Kamaru Usman’s shock knockout defeat to Leon Edwards, while Jose Aldo was beaten by Merab Dvalishvili at UFC 278.
The hip-hop artist staked a total of £169,000 ($200,000) on the Nigerian Usman to defeat Edwards having also placed a bet of around £194,000 ($230,000) on Aldo to defeat Dvalishvili.
He capped off the year with another loss, losing a breathtaking £1.7m (CA$2m) after backing Israel Adesanya to beat Brazilian Alex Pereira at UFC 281 in November.
This month, he placed £415,000 on two separate bets for Jon Jones to beat Frenchman Giryl Gane – one via stoppage and another via submission.
Drake did though finally back a winner, with Jones emerging from his UFC Heavyweight Championship clash victorious via submission giving Drake an estimated payout of $1,700,000 (£1.4m).
DABBLING WITH FOOTBALL
Drake is known for his love for American sports, but that has not stopped him dabbling in British football.
Last October, before his World Cup loss, Drake staked £537,000 (CA$8333,333) on Arsenal and Barcelona to win.
While the Gunners pulled through with a 1-0 win over Leeds, Barcelona lost 3-1 to Real Madrid in a devastating El Clasico for the musician.
Drake staked £537,000 on Arsenal and Barcelona to win but the Catalan giants lost to Real Madrid
Bukayo Saka scored the only goal as Arsenal beat Leeds 1-0 but Drake’s bet fell through overall
SUCCESSIVE SUPER BOWL SUCCESS
Drake has proved to have more luck when it comes to American football.
The Canadian rapper had Patrick Mahomes and Co to thank when the Kansas City Chiefs won Super Bowl LVII last month – or did he?
Drake actually won just one of his seven bets – which he had coined as ‘psychotic’ before the iconic event began – but he did walk away with a huge £425,000 ($512,000) profit after scooping £1.2m ($1.5m) on a KC Chiefs win.
Drake, who wagered a total of £801,000 ($965,000) on the bets celebrated on Instagram, posting a story of Mahomes and Travis Kelce celebrating, with the caption: ‘Pay that man his MONEYYYYYYY Eddie @Stake.’
The KC Chiefs winning their second Super Bowl in four years, earned Drake a small fortune
He bet on the Kansas City Chiefs to win the Super Bowl vs. the Eagles and for Patrick Mahomes to be KC’s first touchdown scorer in the matchup
Exactly a year prior, Drake also took home £250,000 ($300,000) profit after gambling £1m ($1.25m) for correctly predicting the LA Rams would beat the Cincinnati Bengals to win the Super Bowl LVI, while he also had Odell Beckham Jr down to score an anytime touchdown.
Drake actually also lost £328,000 ($390,000) on a separate stake on Beckham Jr, while he recovered £196,000 ($235,000) on Drake London to be the 1st drafted Wide Receiver.
His success continued when he cashed out a staggering £1.67m ($2m) from a £240,000 ($287,000) stake in November when the Buffalo Bills, Dallas Cowboys and the Kansas City Chiefs all won their Week Four contests.
DRAKE’S LOVE FOR SPORT
Drake has also felt success in basketball, baseball and hockey, winning £610,000 ($730,600) in April thanks to the Golden State Warriors and the Dallas Mavericks.
Meanwhile, he cashed in around £96,000 ($115,000) from baseball when Toronto Blue Jays beat the Boston Red Sox. His fortunes continues when he turned £258,000 ($309,000) into £1.97m ($2,35m) thanks to the Dallas Mavericks, Calgary Flames and the New York Rangers.
Unfortunately the rapper lost £376,000 ($450,350) after incorrectly predicting the New York Rangers to win the NHL Eastern Conference Finals, and the Golden State Warriors in the NBA Championship series. He would have won around £1.33m.
Drake has even tried his luck with F1, placing £230,000 ($275,000) on Ferarri’s Charles LeClerc to win the Spanish Grand Prix in 2022. However, LeClerc retired 27 laps in and two-time champion Max Verstappen triumphed, losing Drake out on £627,000 (CA$750,000).
In a turbulent year for Drake’s bank account, the rapper has reportedly staked more than £828.7million ($1billion) – while many continue to believe the curse goes on.
Drake lost £230,000 after incorrectly backing Charles LeClerc to win the Spanish Grand Prix in 2022
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