Less than six months after Drake put down $500,000 on Israel Adesanya to knock out Sean Strickland, he’s now placing an even bigger wager on the current middleweight champion ahead of UFC 297.
The famed rapper showed off a huge $700,000 bet placed on Strickland to beat Dricus du Plessis in the main event on Saturday night. Unlike his previous bet on Adesanya, which Strickland ruined with a lopsided win to claim the 185-pound belt, Drake won’t try to predict a finish this time around.
Instead, he’s just betting on Strickland to win with the 37-year-old hip-hop superstar in line to take home a whopping $1.379 million payoff if he hits his wager.
Strickland remains a very slight favorite over du Plessis heading into fight night with DraftKings currently listing the UFC middleweight champion at -112 just hours away from th event. That means it would take a $112 bet to earn back $100 if Strickland successfully defends his title.
In the post on Instagram, Drake also announced that he’ll be in attendance at UFC 297 on Saturday, which takes place in his hometown of Toronto.
Drake has become a huge fan of UFC events and betting on them with sizable wagers placed before almost every major pay-per-view.
Of course, Drake has missed more often than hit on his wagers and that’s earned him a reputation as a “curse” for fighters and sports teams he’s backed in the past. The list of fighters doomed after a Drake wager include Adesanya, Conor McGregor, Jorge Masvidal and Justin Gaethje.
In other words, Strickland may want to make sure he doesn’t step under any ladders or cross paths with a black cat ahead of UFC 297 because he might already be fighting an uphill battle with Drake backing him.