Canadian rapper Drake is known for his lavish lifestyle and his love for sports betting. But sometimes, his bets don’t pay off as he hopes. The latest example of this was his huge wager on Francis Ngannou, the former UFC heavyweight champion who crossed over to boxing to face Anthony Joshua in a historic showdown in Saudi Arabia.
Drake posted on his Instagram story that he was betting $615,000 on Ngannou to win the fight, calling him “a scary man”. He also shared a photo of himself wearing a Ngannou t-shirt and holding a stack of cash. Drake was confident that Ngannou would pull off an upset and dethrone Joshua, the two-time unified heavyweight champion.
However, things didn’t go as planned for Drake or Ngannou. Joshua proved to be too much for the MMA star, who had only one professional boxing bout before facing Joshua. The British boxer dominated the fight from the start, dropping Ngannou in the first round with a powerful right hand. Ngannou survived the round, but he looked shaken and hurt.
In the second round, Joshua went for the kill and unleashed a barrage of punches that sent Ngannou to the canvas again. This time, Ngannou was out cold and the referee waved off the fight, giving Joshua a spectacular knockout victory. Joshua celebrated his win and hugged Ngannou, who was helped to his feet by his corner.
Drake, on the other hand, was left with a huge hole in his pocket. His $615,000 bet on Ngannou turned out to be a bad investment, as he lost the chance to win $1.9 million if Ngannou had won. Drake’s notorious losing streak in sports betting continued, as he added another loss to his list of failed bets.
Drake has lost bets on UFC, boxing, football, and basketball events, often backing the underdogs or the favorites. Some of his notable losses include:
- Betting on Sean Strickland to beat Dricus Du Plessis in a UFC middleweight title fight in January 2024. Strickland lost by knockout in the first round, costing Drake over $500,000.
- Betting on Logan Paul to beat Dillon Danis in a Misfits Boxing fight in December 2023. Paul won by disqualification after Danis tried to choke him in the final round, but Drake only won $1.3 million instead of $2.6 million that he would have won if Paul had won by knockout.
- Betting on Israel Adesanya to beat Sean Strickland in a UFC middleweight title fight in November 2023. Adesanya lost by unanimous decision, making Drake miss out on a $920,000 payout.
- Betting on Conor McGregor to beat Dustin Poirier in a UFC lightweight fight in January 2021. McGregor lost by knockout in the second round, making Drake lose $100,000.
Drake has not commented on his latest loss, but he might want to rethink his betting strategy or take a break from gambling altogether.
