3 times Drake 'cursed' Israel Adesanya, and 2 times he didn't

UFC legend Israel Adesanya is no stranger to the supposed 'Drake Curse' and is one of the athletes who's beaten it on multiple occasions. Adesanya has long shared a bond of appreciation, love, and respect with hip-hop megastar Drake. 'Izzy' has even partied at the Canadian music icon's house, besides also watching him perform live.

Drake has gained a reputation for being an avid sports bettor over the years, particularly known for wagering gargantuan amounts of money on sporting events. Certain sections of the sports and broader pop culture realms believe that the athlete/team Drake publicly supports or bets on is afflicted by the 'Drake Curse' and loses their given match/series.

Today, we revisit a few high-profile Israel Adesanya fights that Drake bet on and look at how 'The Last Stylebender' has fared on those fights.

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#5 Israel Adesanya vs. Jared Cannonier

Heading into the UFC 276 event in July 2022, then-UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya was scheduled to defend his title against fearsome knockout artist Jared Cannonier. Drake conversed with Adesanya in a FaceTime call before that fight and let the combat sports megastar know that he'd bet a "light million" on him to defeat Cannonier.

Drake suggested that Adesanya was a different person and emphasized that he beholds him with deep respect and love. Similarly, 'Izzy' expressed his gratitude for the support and noted that he was blessed to have seen the rapper perform at events.

As reported by ESPN, the $1 million bet by Drake was expected to fetch him a profit of $250k if Adesanya beat Cannonier at UFC 276. Adesanya defended his title with a unanimous decision victory against 'The Killa Gorilla,' thereby overcoming the 'Drake Curse' in that fight and winning his friend a substantial payout.

Watch the gladdening conversation between Drake and Adesanya in the latter's tweet below:

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#4 Israel Adesanya vs. Alex Pereira 1

Israel Adesanya has faced Brazil's Alex Pereira in four professional combat sports contests, two in kickboxing and MMA each. 'Poatan' beat Adesanya in their kickboxing bouts, via unanimous decision in 2016 and third-round KO in 2017.

Additionally, their first MMA encounter, their third clash overall, had Adesanya putting his UFC middleweight title on the line against Pereira at UFC 281 (Nov. 2022). The aforementioned fight was Adesanya's very next MMA bout after having beaten the 'Drake Curse' against Cannonier in July of that year.

Drake once again placed a mammoth bet on Adesanya, picking him to defeat Pereira at UFC 281. Per CBS Sports, he wagered $2 million on him and was on the cusp of bagging a $2.9 million payout.

Adesanya had his foe badly rocked toward the end of round one and seemingly outworked him in the ensuing rounds, too. However, a resilient Pereira rallied to unleash a hellacious volley of strikes on 'Izzy' in the fifth and final round and secured a TKO victory, thereby costing Drake $2 million.

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#3 Israel Adesanya vs. Alex Pereira 2

Having fallen victim to the 'Drake Curse' and suffered his first-ever knockout defeat in the sport of MMA, Israel Adesanya seemed to have the odds stacked against him after UFC 281. His next fight was an immediate rematch against archnemesis Alex Pereira, a fighter who'd beaten him thrice overall.

Adesanya fought Pereira for the latter's UFC middleweight title at UFC 287 (April 2023). Before the high-stakes showdown, Drake staked (no pun intended) a sum of $500k on Adesanya to win and $400k on him winning via knockout.

'Izzy' valiantly battled through adversity after absorbing Pereira's thunderous strikes and scoring a come-from-behind KO in the second round of their UFC 287 fight. Adesanya's spectacular victory was believed to have bagged Drake a total payout of $2.725 million, with a profit of $1.825 million.

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#2 Israel Adesanya vs. Sean Strickland

Israel Adesanya was riding high with his victory over the formidable Alex Pereira, a knockout at that! Adesanya's next fight was a title defense against Sean Strickland at UFC 293 (Sept. 2023). Incidentally, Pereira had beaten Strickland via first-round KO in July 2022. Needless to say, 'Izzy' was a massive favorite to dominantly defeat America's Strickland.

Unfortunately for the Nigeria-born New Zealander, a monumental upset awaited him. Adesanya suffered a vicious knockdown at the hands of Strickland in the very first round of their fight and was thoroughly outworked en route to a lopsided unanimous decision defeat.

For his part, Drake had bet $500k on Adesanya beating Strickland via knockout. The expected payout from the bet was $920k. Strickland's victory at UFC 293 ended Adesanya's second UFC middleweight title reign, besides also costing Drake $500k.

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#1 Israel Adesanya vs. Dricus du Plessis

In the wake of his shocking defeat against Sean Strickland, Israel Adesanya announced that he'll be taking a hiatus from professional MMA competition. Meanwhile, Strickland's next fight saw him lose the middleweight belt via split decision to South Africa's Dricus du Plessis at UFC 297 (Jan. 2024).

It just so happened that du Plessis was a longtime rival of Adesanya's. For years, they've been at odds over a few remarks 'Stillknocks' made about becoming the first 'real African' UFC champion who was born, resides, and trains in Africa. Adesanya announced the end of his hiatus and returned to face du Plessis for the middleweight title at UFC 305 (Aug. 17, 2024; Aug. 18 local time in Australia).

Drake put forth an Instagram post, featuring a screenshot of a bet he'd placed on Adesanya to defeat du Plessis. Apparently, the 37-year-old artist wagered $450k on him, with an estimated payout of $855k. His statement in the post read:

"Always with Izzy"

The UFC 305 showdown ended up being a grueling contest, wherein both combatants fought tooth and nail, displaying outstanding striking and grappling abilities. The tenacious du Plessis appeared to catch 'Izzy' with a few powerful strikes in the fourth round.

'Stillknocks' then swiftly dragged him to the mat and jumped on his back to lock in a rear-naked choke. He stopped the former middleweight kingpin via fourth-round submission and notched his first successful title defense, denying Adesanya a historic third middleweight title reign.

Both fighters subsequently expressed their respect for each other inside the octagon as well as during their respective post-fight press conference segments. They indicated that their personal differences notwithstanding, they share significant respect for one another as warriors.

Furthermore, Dricus du Plessis put forth a tweet later on, featuring a screenshot of himself with his UFC belt and writing:

"From the bottom of my heart once again THANK YOU @Drake"