Ahead of his UFC 276 headlining fight with Jared Cannonier tonight in Las Vegas, UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya spoke on a video call with one of his biggest fans, none other than Drake, who told him he’d bet a huge sum of money on him to win the bout.
“I already know what time it is,” Drake told Adesanya. “I put a light million up. I wasn’t playing.
“I had to put a light mil up on my bother. The return on investment is a lock.”
Adesanya was clearly star-struck by the conversation, but you also have to wonder whether he’ll now feel extra weight on his shoulders to come out with a win tonight.
On the other hand, Adesanya might even be spooked by Drake betting on him given that the rapper is infamous in MMA circles for bad betting picks, with the so-called ‘Drake Curse’ also having struck the likes of Conor McGregor, Jorge Masvidal and Justin Gaethje in the past.
That aside, it seems that Drake genuinely is a big fan of Adesanya, as he expressed while signing off from their call.
“I just want to wish you good luck,” Drake said. “You know I love you, brother. You’re different. You’re a different guy, bro. I have a deep, deep, deep love and respect for you. A deep love and respect.”
“That was dope,” Adesanya said afterwards. “I like that. He gave me chills. … F*ck that was cool.”
