Rapper Drake Wins Over $2 Million
Paul M |Canadian rapper Drake, real name Aubrey Graham, is renowned for more than just his music. The Toronto-born megastar is also famous for the bets he places. When it comes to making wagers, Drizzy puts down big bucks for the world to see, and he recently splashed the cash at UFC 287, where he pocketed over $2 million.
UFC 287
MMA and the UFC appear to be great for Drake in terms of being on a betting hot streak, so heading to UFC 287, the thirty-six-year-old only had one thing on his mind: winning. The main event was always going to be a massive draw for Drake, who was tipping Israel Adesanya to defeat his rival Alex Pereira from the get-go.
$900,000 Bet
Adesanya and Pereira had been rivals since they competed in kickboxing, with the former unable to defeat the latter. Adesanya went into this middleweight contest as the slight favourite, and Drake put his money on a victory going his way.
$500,000 was placed on an Adesanya win, but Champagne Papi also predicted he’d win by knockout, wagering a further $400,000, taking his total stake to $900,000 and just $100,000 shy of a stunning $1,000,000.
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Underdog Gamble
Before we get onto just how much Drake won on the night, it’s worth noting that while it’s just over $2 million, he could have collected a whopping $5 million if things had gone his way.
As well as backing Adesanya, Drizzy put money down on Jorge Masvidal, a 3/1 underdog, to win and to also win by knockout against Gilbert Burns. $300,000 went on a straight Masvidal victory, while another $200,000 was placed on the knockout.
Masvidal & Adesanya
Masvidal was entering the octagon on the back of three defeats, and when he slumped to a decision loss and his fourth reverse in a row, not only did Drake see $500,000 slip away and the chance to win around $5 million, but Masvidal also called time on his two-decade-long career in the UFC.
It really proved to be make or break for Gamebred, which is why Drake obviously backed him to come out on top, but it just wasn’t to be for either man on the night.
Fortunately for Drake, he was walking away with a fair amount of profit in his pocket after his exploits in the Adesanya bout. Both his Adesanya victory and Adesanya knockout bets came in, so he netted over $2 million in total, which isn’t a bad night’s work for anyone. However, he may rue the missed opportunity to have bagged closer to $5 million, but Masvidal’s defeat meant that wasn’t possible.
Drake & UFC History
The UFC has been good for Drake in recent times, with the rapper raking in millions at UFC 286 and 285 alone. At the former, he bet on Paddy Pimblett and Molly McCann to win; at the latter, he wagered heavily on Jon Jones to overcome Ciryl Gane in their heavyweight title clash.
He’s followed that up with further success at UFC 287 and Adesanya, so it’ll be interesting to see his approach the next time he bets on the UFC.