Drake curse neutralised as rapper wins $2.7m from Adesanya’s win

Drake had lost $1.6m on a bet tipping Adesanya to win the previous fight with Pereira five months ago.

The infamous Drake Curse has once again been neutralised as the Canadian rapper raked in a total of $2.7 million from Israel Adesanya's knockout win against Alex Pereira at Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) 287.

The Nigerian-born New Zealander reclaimed his middleweight title from the Brazilian mixed martial artist who had previously beaten him three times.

In their penultimate encounter, Adesanya lost his 185lb Middleweight title to Pereira in a fight that took place at the Madison Square Garden in New York last November.

The superstitious Drake curse was active on that occasion as the world-renowned rapper lost $1.6 million after backing the self-styled Stylebender to win against his arch-rival.

However, Adesanya helped Drake to recoup his loss when he knocked Pereira out cold in the early hours of Sunday, April 9, 2023.

The Canadian rapper reportedly staked a $500,000 bet on Adesanya to win which returned $885,000 and also won another $1.8 million for his bet tipping the Nigerian-born martial artist to knock his Brazilian opponent out.

When asked about Drake’s bet after his fight, the Stylebender 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,” The Mirror reports.

The Drake curse is a long-existing Internet myth that suggests that anyone who poses for a picture with the artist or if he supports a player or a team, or endorses anything, it would ultimately suffer a loss.