Drake expects $1,379,000 payout from Sean Strickland’s win as UFC returns to rapper’s home

Drake places eye-popping $700,000 bet on Sean Strickland to overcome challenger Dricus Du Plessis at UFC 297 title fight..

Drake expects $1,379,000 payout from Sean Strickland’s win as UFC returns to rapper’s home

Drake bets on Sean Strickland beating Drcius Du Plessis (Source: Instagram, @champagnepapi/UFC.com)

Rapper Drake has placed a massive bet on the UFC 297 main event showdown. Champion Sean Strickland faces contender Dricus Du Plessis in a much-anticipated bout. Strickland recently divulged nothing changing in his gameplan ahead of the title match. He will aim to defeat Du Plessis the same way he defeated Israel Adesanya at UFC 293. And the Canadian native rapper and songwriter is here for it.

Before Saturday’s headliner at the Scotiabank Arena, Toronto (pay-per-view, ESPN, ESPN+), the fighters had their official ceremonial weigh-ins. The face-off saw the champion freeze up awkwardly during the final stare-off. Despite this, many fans and peers still expect “Tarzan” to defeat the South African fighter. Drake has put forward $700k, with a whopping $1,379,000 ROI on such a title win.

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The last time Drake bet on Adesanya to defeat Strickland at UFC 293, it did not go well for him. Concurrently, Drake is hopeful of Strickland getting the win this time. The Drake curse is a real thing. The fighter that he bets on loses 75% of the time. And this time around, he remains confident in his and the titleholder’s chances.

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Despite such optimistic aspirations and not opening a betting favorite, Du Plessis also remains geared up. The South African phenom competes in his first UFC title bout. He earned his shot after defeating the likes of Darren Till, Derek Brunson, and Robert Whittaker. Much is at stake for the 185lbers, and also the avid bettor Drake, come this weekend.

A short but comprehensive list of Drake’s betting antics in MMA

Drake lost half a million at UFC 293, incorrectly predicting former 2-time middleweight champion Israel Adesanya to win big in Australia. Sean Strickland won that matchup in what was dubbed one of the biggest upsets in the combat sports bubble.

Even before UFC 297, Drake has bet on many MMA stars
Even before UFC 297, Drake has bet on many MMA stars (Source: IMAGO/sportsbible.com/Twitter/bleacherreport.com)

Strickland faces Dricus Du Plessis at UFC 297 on Drake’s home turf. Drake posted his betting ticket on his Instagram story, tagging Dana White. Before that happens, though, here is a brief but comprehensive list of times the singer had extensively bet in MMA.

Drake has had a betting curse, facing the wrong end of the stick. Fight fans anonymously downvote this as one of the more superstitious factors for Adesanya’s title skid. However, UFC star Molly McCann paraded her £40,000 Rolex last year. Drake had bought her the gift subsequently after breaking his betting curse.

His top curses include – betting a solid $850k on influencer-boxer Logan Paul to KO Dillon Danis. Having won by DQ, this utterly fell through. He also lost 400k betting on Jake Paul‘s pro-boxing debut against Tommy Fury.

Drake also lost a whopping sum on a bet on Jorge Masvidal at UFC 272. Consequently, he got sneered and roasted by Colby Covington for this.

With the lone exception of Adesanya at UFC 276 and Leon Edwards, the singer’s betting cruse is still alive. It falls to Strickland to see this through, come this weekend.

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