The UFC Drake Curse Strikes Again With Charles Oliveira's KO Loss at UFC 317

Canadian rapper Drake’s notorious combat sports betting curse struck again at UFC 317, where his $200,000 wager on Oliveira went up in smoke after Topuria KO’d the Brazilian in the first round. The undefeated Topuria needed just two minutes and 27 seconds to claim the vacant lightweight title, landing a brutal right hand that sent Oliveira crashing to the canvas and left Drake $200,000 poorer.

In a now-expired Instagram story, Drake wrote, “Brazil, I love you and I owe you. Betting on Brazil.”

The rapper had bet on Oliveira as an underdog, which would have netted him a significant payout, but instead, Oliveira became the latest victim of the infamous "Drake Curse."

This wasn’t Drake’s first high-profile UFC betting loss. Just last year, he dropped $450,000 on Israel Adesanya against Dricus du Plessis and $355,000 on Mike Tyson to beat Jake Paul—both of which backfired spectacularly.

While he did cash in on Alexander Volkanovski’s win over Diego Lopes earlier this year, his losses far outweigh his wins, fueling the myth of the Drake Curse.

According to to TheDrakeCurse.com, a website that compiles data of Drake’s sports betting, the UFC is his most bet-on sport, with $13.45M laid over 25 bets. While public UFC betting record indicates a net gain in terms of money, the data also shows that he has lost 15 out of those 25 bets.

Either way, Topuria’s dominance suggests he could reign over the lightweight division for years. Drake, however, may need to rethink his betting strategy or, better yet, address his gambling addiction.