Talk about a famous rapper—an international music icon with five Grammy Awards and a staggering 39 Billboard Music Awards to his name. His rap songs went viral across the globe, captivating millions. But behind the glitz and the hits lurked something unexpected! A phenomenon the sports world has come to fear is the Drake Curse. Yes! We are talking about Aubrey Drake Graham. It all started in 2015, when the Canadian rapper was spotted courtside at the US Open, cheering for tennis legend Serena Williams. She was the favorite to win and had a chance to clinch all 4 grand slams in a calendar year—but ended up losing to Roberta Vinci in the semifinals. Coincidence? Maybe. But that was just the beginning.
Since then, the so-called curse has followed Drake like a shadow, striking down some of the biggest names in sports. From Conor McGregor in 2016, to Israel Adesanya in 2022 to even the Toronto Raptors, Drake’s support has often spelled doom for athletes and teams alike. The latest victim? Alexander Volkanovski. ‘The Great’ has already held the featherweight championship once but recently lost it to Ilia Topuria. Now, he’s getting another shot—perhaps his last—to win the belt back. But just as he steps back into title contention, Drake has stepped in!
The rapper is throwing his full support behind Volkanovski for his bout against Diego Lopes at UFC 314. And it’s not just verbal backing—Drake has placed a massive $545,000 bet on Volkanovski to win. The potential payoff? A whopping $916,500. But given his track record, fans are wondering: Is this the kiss of death? UFC CEO Dana White certainly had something to say about it.
During an appearance alongside Adin Ross, Hunter Campbell, and Teofimo Lopez at the Brand Risk Promotions event, the topic of Drake’s betting habits came up. Ross said, “You know Drake does it too, Drake is as bad as you.” Dana responded, “I have heard the stories. But I don’t know what’s true and not true. Everybody who runs a Casino Business is full of s–t”
Ross chimed in again, “Drake’s had some crazy nights.” This is when Lopez jumped in and said, “If you bet like a b—h, you never get rich” to a hilarious reaction from the head honcho and Campbell. Ross continued to criticize sports betting and said that he hates it. White didn’t disagree: “I don’t like sports betting,” he said.
Hunter Campbell talks Dana White’s gambling. pic.twitter.com/4HEHmCUOkW
— Jed I. Goodman © (@jedigoodman) April 12, 2025
The conversation had started because of the habit of gambling which White’s partner and CBO, Hunter Campbell, did not approve of. He tried to reason with Ross and White, but of course, the duo loves to gamble — so would they listen? Who knows. But things got more serious when the quartet started stressing over Drake’s high-stakes bet on Volkanovski vs. Lopes. Campbell gave his take on gambling, saying
“Here’s my thing with gambling. If you think about it logically, the casino has a mathematical edge. There is nothing you can do over a sustained period to be there. So you are doing it for another reason to entertain yourself but if you’re logical and you understand that you’re going to play for a long enough you cannot win over the long term. As long as you know that and you’re entertaining yourself, it is fine.”
Now that the 36-year-old fighter has Drake betting on him? Does that make his losing stakes higher? The rapper wrote that this bet was his “first slip of the year,” and truly, it’s a big UFC event — the kind that draws bets from massive public personalities like Drake. The MMA world got pretty tense after the news dropped. Fans were quick to jump in with reactions like, “Diego guaranteed winning now.” So… is the Drake Curse really that bad?
Some notable examples of ‘The Drake Curse’ in MMA
Drake might be lucky and talented when it comes to music, but unfortunately, he has brought bad luck into the sports and combat sports world. It was first emerging as a meme that he brought bad luck, but now after so many receipts from incidents, the betting curse seems pretty real. Drake has a record of UFC betting, but the stats are pretty rough. He lost $275,000 while betting on Jorge Masvidal to beat Colby Covington. Guess what? Masvidal lost instead.
It’s no secret that the songwriter has been a lifelong fan of Israel Adesanya, often backing him throughout his UFC career—even against his former arch-nemesis Alex Pereira. However, his luck took a hit when he placed a massive $1,595,467 wager on Izzy ahead of his first fight against Pereira at UFC 281—a bet that didn’t pay off. Talking about Izzy, the Yoruba lost at UFC 305 against Dricus Du Plessis, and guess what? Drake had again placed a bet on him.
The Canadian reportedly placed $450,000 on Izzy to beat the reigning 185lbs champ but it didn’t translate into success. Interestingly, the South African took a verbal jab at the songwriter and thanked him for betting against the champion. He also spent $400,000 on Justin Gaethje, who was unfortunately submitted by Charles Oliveira at UFC 274 in the first round. Drake had joined Conor McGregor at the UFC 229 weigh-ins and supported him by draping the Irish flag. The outcome? McGregor went on to get submitted by Khabib Nurmagomedov.
However, there are a few cases where the bet did work in Drake’s favor. Jon Jones is one of the few special cases who won at UFC 285, despite Drake’s half-million bet on him. He also won $2.34 million from a bet of USD 1.15 million on the Kansas City Chiefs in the 2024 Super Bowl.
Do you think Drake’s betting will not be a curse this time? Share your thoughts in the comments below.
The post Dana White Ridicules $916K Risk for UFC 314 as Drake Curse Hovers Around Alexander Volkanovski vs. Diego Lopes appeared first on EssentiallySports.