Drake's run of luck gambling on the UFC came to an end as he lost out on $240,000 after Jose Aldo was defeated at UFC 278.
The rapper backed Aldo to beat top bantamweight contender Merab Dvalishvili in their fight on Saturday night, but the former featherweight champion was out-grappled by Dvalishvili over three rounds with the judges scoring it 29-28, 29-28 and 30-27. The loss snapped a three-fight winning streak for the UFC legend and likely ended any chance of him fighting for the bantamweight title in the near future.
Dvalishvili, who was booed by the Salt Lake City crowd, said after the win: "This a dream, I don't believe this. I had to do everything for the win, but I have so much respect for Jose Aldo. He was very technical against the cage, usually I take down everybody but his footwork and takedown defence against the cage was amazing. I was very surprised."
Drake is no stranger to gambling on the UFC and won his biggest bet yet in July, cashing in for a whopping £3million on a £1.9m bet thanks to Paddy Pimblett and Molly McCann’s wins at UFC London. That wasn’t the only profit Drake made that month, as he correctly backed middleweight champion Israel Adesanya to beat Jared Cannonier at UFC 276.
The multi-platinum recording artist lost his first few bets of the year gambling on UFC, losing out on $275,000 when he backed Jorge Masvidal beat Colby Covington in March as 'Gamebred' was outclassed his bitter rival. Drake doubled down on his stake two months later when he staked $550,000 on Justin Gaethje to beat Charles Oliveira, which also saw him lose big money.
What were your thoughts on Jose Aldo's loss to Merab Dvalishvili at UFC 278? Let us know in the comments section below
The rapper is known for his 'Drake curse' where fighters and other athletes go on to lose their respective major events after he shows his support for them. His luck has been particularly bad for MMA fighters, posing with Conor McGregor before his fight against Floyd Mayweather as well as losing a number of big money bets this year.
Fans joked UFC star Khamzat Chimaev was cursed by Drake before his fight against Gilbert Burns in April after being sent some of his rapper's OVO merchandise, but the curse was broekn as Chimaev went on to outpoint Burns in the toughest fight of his career. Drake wasn't the only fighter to lose out after betting on Aldo, with middleweight king Adesanya also placing an $8,000 bet on the UFC legend as he wrote: "Paying my respects and my respects pay me."
