Renowned Canadian rapper Drake continues to strike the world of sports with his infamous curse as UFC fighter Israel Adesanya becomes his latest victim, know its meaning and has it been broken
Drake is arguably one of the most successful musicians at present and a renowned legendary rapper.
Explained what is the Drake Curse in sports, meaning, victims list and has it ever been broken
Drake lost $500K on Sean Strickland beating Israel Adesanya 😬 #UFC293
The curse lives on… pic.twitter.com/1SxsUlP9Eq
— Happy Punch (@HappyPunch) September 10, 2023
Dear Mr. @Drake
Please don’t bet on any of our fighters.
🙏
Respectfully #AmericanTopTeam #JustSayNo #GodsPlan#UFC
— American Top Team (@AmericanTopTeam) September 10, 2023
Despite his success in music, Drake simply appears to bring nothing but bad luck to every global sports star or team he is associated with.
The infamous “Drake curse” origins explained
Canadian hip-hop icon Drake has developed into something of a bad luck charm in the world of sports. Several elite athletes and sports teams have faced major defeats and losses after being associated with him in recent years. This has come from taking photos together, to serving as a team ambassador or simply the 36-year-old placing bets.
This series of bad luck associated with the rapper has formed what fans now call the “Drake Curse”. Fans first saw the Drake Curse in action in the sport of basketball. Back in 2013, the Toronto Raptors made Drake who’s hometown is also Toronto as their global ambassador. Ever since then, the team has developed a reputation for choking in major fixtures and fans balme Drake’s involvement.
Another incident involved Drake becoming a part of the Kentucky college basketball program, following which the team has never won a title. Moreover, he even placed a £4,500 bet on Kentucky during a title decider against Wisconsin, which they lost. The Alabama college football team also suffered a defeat at the hands of arch-rivals Clemson after posing for a photo with Drake.
Sporting results affected by the “Drake curse”
Aside from team games, the Drake curse’s first notable victim was women’s all-time great Serena Williams, who suffered a suffering a shock defeat to Roberta Vinci during the US Open semi-finals back in 2015. The following year, former Cleveland Browns quarterback Johnny Manziel met Drake and dropped out of the NFL altogether. He was notably a first-round draft pick in 2014 and seemed to show a prospective career ahead of him.
The Drake Curse also hit boxing, after British boxer Anthony Joshua suffered his first career defeat at the hands of Andy Ruiz Jnr back in 2020. Ahead of the fight, he posed for a photograph with Drake. A year before in 2019, UFC champ Conor McGregor also posed for a photo with Drake before losing to Khabib.
Meanwhile, Manchester United star Jadon Sancho posed for a photograph with Drake while at Dortmund, before losing to Bayern Munich. Sergio Aguero, one of the greatest players to have played in the Premier League, missed a penalty against Tottenham after taking a photo with Drake ahead of the match. Ligue 1 champions Paris Saint-Germain, suffered a shock 5-1 defeat to Lille, which was their heaviest loss in over 19 years when Drake was in town.
More recently, in earlier this year in 2023, during the Jake Paul vs Tommy Fury boxing match, Drake paled a £350,000 stake in favour of Paul. However, Fury won the match on a points decision. Following the match, even Paul shared:
This is Drake’s fault! Drake bro, why did you do this to me?”
Just recently, UFC fighter Israel Adesanya became the latest victim after he suffered a shock defeat against Sean Strickland at UFC 293. Notably, placed a $500K bet in favour of Adesanya winning the match.
Times the “Drake Curse” did not work
Despite all the mystery and speculation surrounding Drake over his curse, there are times when it hasn’t worked. Back in UFC 285, Drake placed two £207,730 bets on Jon Jones against Ciryl Lane. Much to his delight, Jones won and the rapper walked away with £1.4million. Back in 2021 as well, Tyson Fury retained his WBC heavweight championship belt after knocking out Deontay Wilder. Ahead of the match Drake shared his support for the British boxer online.
Bayern Munich star Alphonso Davies also enjoyed a 5-1 win over Bayer Leverkusen back in 2021 after posing for a photo before the match.
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