Newly-crowned UFC middleweight champion Dricus Du Plessis is rather appreciative of music superstar Drake.

Du Plessis challenged Sean Strickland for the UFC Middleweight Championship this past Saturday night. It was a back and forth battle that went the distance. Two of the three judges scoring the fight awarded the victory to DDP.

After the fight, Dricus had Drake to thank for his dreaded betting "curse."

Ahead of UFC 297, Drake put down a whopping $700K bet on Sean Strickland to defeat Dricus Du Plessis. It's been a long-running joke that whenever Drake bets on a fighter, you can count on the athlete to be "cursed."

Du Plessis knew exactly who to thank following UFC 297.

"O snap almost forgot, Thanks Drake," Du Plessis wrote.

Had the judges scored the fight for Strickland, Drake would've received $1.379 million. In one of the more humorous moments of UFC 297, Drake's 2018 smash hit "God's Plan" played after the post-fight interviews were over for the main event.

Of course, Drake will be just fine as this isn't his first loss betting on fights, and fans hope it won't be his last to keep the joke train rolling. As for Strickland, with his personality he may not be so thrilled to know that a mainstream music artist bet on him on fight night. After all, Strickland is known for being more of a symbol for those who go against social norms.

Perhaps Strickland's loss to Du Plessis really was "God's Plan."

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