cursed
Drake loses £1.2million after betting big on Israel Adesanya who got knocked out again by his old kickboxing rival Alex Pereira at UFC 281
Israel Adesanya fell victim to the infamous Drake ‘curse’ as he lost his middleweight title at Madison Square Garden on Saturday night.
Stylebender’s shock defeat cost the rapper around £1.2million after he backed the long-time 185lb king to finally get a win over the man who previously beat him twice in kickboxing.
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In 2016, Pereira ended Adesanya’s 12-fight winning streak with a unanimous decision victory before the two men met again in a rematch that ended in disaster for the now-former 185lb king.
A lead left hook caught ‘The Last Stylebender’ and left him out cold on the canvas and he later required oxygen as he struggled to instantly regain consciousness.
After that, Adesanya moved to MMA and become one of the biggest stars in the sport by beating the likes of Jared Cannonier, Robert Whittaker, Marvin Vettori, Yoel Romero, Kelvin Gastelum, and Anderson Silva.
In 2020, Pereira committed himself to MMA full-time and after amassing a record of 6-1 – which included three UFC wins – he was fast-tracked into a title shot.
‘Poatan’ was wobbled by Adesanya in the first round at UFC 281 in Madison Square Garden but recovered and was competitive throughout the fight.
In the third frame, ‘The Last Stylebender’ secured his first-ever UFC takedown and showed he had a clear advantage on the ground against his inexperienced opponent.
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Pereira emerged for round four looking exhausted from the grappling exchanges and seemed to be on his way to a decision defeat when the unthinkable happened in the final frame.
The Brazilian knockout artist landed a flurry of punches that had Adesanya out of his feet before referee Marc Goddard step in to save the New Zealander from taking any more punishment.
Many stars have tasted defeat after posing for a photo or being backed in a bet by Drake - including the former Manchester City star Sergio Aguero, heavyweight boxer Anthony Joshua and UFC legend Conor McGregor.
However, the Canadian musician doesn’t always lose and earlier this year he bought Paddy Pimblett and Molly McCann new luxury watches after they earned him a monster £3.1million payday at UFC London.
Despite this loss, it's a safe bet to assume he’ll be back wagering big money again when the MMA leader return’s for its final pay-per-view event of the year on December 10 when ‘The Baddy’ and Darren Till will return to the Octagon.
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