Israel Adesanya hit by Drake Curse in the biggest upset in UFC middleweight history

Sean Strickland knocks down Israel Adesanya (left - via Chamatkar Sandhu), Drake (right - via @champagnepapi)
Sean Strickland knocks down Israel Adesanya (left - via Chamatkar Sandhu), Drake (right - via @champagnepapi)

Israel Adesanya has succumbed to the 'Drake Curse' yet again.

Drake betting on a UFC fight is nothing new, and even less surprising is the fighter he bets on losing. In fact, he has made quite the name for himself by 'jinxing' athletes in all sports.

Ahead of UFC 293, the Canadian rapper-songwriter placed a massive bet on Israel Adesanya, as he usually does before every fight of 'The Last Stylebender's.

He wagered $500,000 on Adesanya winning against Sean Strickland via KO. The estimated payout, as per the betting slip he shared on Instagram, was $920,000.

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With Adesanya losing in a unanimous decision to Sean Strickland in the main event of the card, the so-called curse continues to haunt fighters.

The 'Drake Curse' joke stemmed from a number of athletes consecutively losing after he had placed a bet on them. Adesanya cost the musician millions of dollars after getting knocked out by Alex Pereira at UFC 281.

Adesanya had formerly managed to break the Drake curse, most famously at UFC 276 over Jared Cannonier.


Sean Strickland pulls off the biggest upset over Israel Adesanya in UFC middleweight history

Israel Adesanya got dropped and took a flurry of punches in the closing moments of the first round. He was closely saved from a TKO by the bell. He came back well in the second, with a somewhat evenly spread-out third round.

Strickland took the upper hand in the fourth with an excellent display of forward marching and defense.

Strickland looked in his element throughout the fight and finished strong, confident that he had won the fight even before the scorecards were announced So was the rest of the MMA world.

He secured a unanimous decision with judges scoring the bout 49-46 across the bench in his favor.

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Edited by Anwesha Nag
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