Drake has been known to place large bets on sporting events, and the UFC is often the subject of his biggest wagers.
ChampagnePapi is back at it, and he’s betting on one of his personal favorites to win. Drake took to Instagram to share the betting slip for a $450,000 wager on Israel Adesanya to defeat Dricus Du Plessis on Saturday night in Perth, Australia, to win the UFC middleweight title for the third time.
Drake captioned the post, “Always with Izzy.” If Adesanya wins, the wager will pay Drake $850,000.
The fight, which is the main event of UFC 305, is currently listed as a pick-em and easily the closest from an odds standpoint of any fight on the main card.
In the past, Drake has won and lost betting on Adesanya.
He lost $2 million on the former UFC middleweight champion in November 2022 when Drake picked Adesanya to defeat Alex Pereira. Pereira stopped Adesanya in that meeting, but the latter won the rematch.
Drake cashed in on Adesanya’s revenge win while losing money betting on Jorge Masvidal to defeat Gilbert Burns on the same card.
Drake won with Adesanya earlier in the year when he placed a bet on the Last Stylebender to defeat Jared Cannonier. Drake won $1 million on that wager.
While Adesanya appears to be Drake’s favorite fighter overall and one of his main athletes to bet on, the iconic Canadian rapper is no stranger to dropping tons of cash on the UFC in general.
Drake bet $275,000 on Masvidal to beat Colby Covington. Masvidal lost that fight at UFC 272 in March 2022 via unanimous decision.
In May 2022, Drake lost $427,000 when he bet on Justin Gaethje to defeat Charles Oliveira at UFC 274 in May 2022. Oliveira submitted Gaethje in the first round.
In one of the craziest upsets in recent UFC history, Leon Edwards snatched victory from the jaws of defeat with a head-kick KO win over Kamaru Usman at UFC 278 in August 2022. Usman had dominated the first four rounds and was up on all the scorecards before Edwards landed the telling blow.
Drake had bet $200,000 on Usman.
Let’s end on a positive note for Drake. In July 2022 at UFC London, Drake bet $2.3 million in a parlay on Paddy Pimblett and Molly McCann. Pimblett and McCann won, and Drake’s wager paid out just under $3.7 million.
Drake also gifted Pimblett and McCann Rolex watches for their efforts. I know Kendrick Lamar spent the entire summer telling Drake this, but when you see how much money the latter bet in 2022 alone, it’s clear he’s the one who is not like most of us.
The UFC 305 card gets underway at 6:30 p.m. ET with the early prelims. The middle prelims start at 8 p.m. ET, and the main card, which is the pay-per-view portion, starts at 10 p.m. ET.
Be on the lookout for post-fight coverage following the main event. Drake will either be smiling and posting or shrugging off another significant loss.
