Drake puts massive wager on UFC 317 main event

Drake is riding with Charles Oliveira.

The hip-hop superstar’s latest big bet on combat sports has him picking “do Bronx” to beat Ilia Topuria in Saturday’s UFC 317 main event and become the new lightweight champion. Should Oliveira win, he’ll become the first fighter ever to hold the 155-pound title twice.

And if Drake is correct, he’ll cash in a $900,000 bet. In association with the gambling website Stake, Drake posted on Instagram Stories that he is putting $200,000 on Oliveira as a +440 underdog, which would net a return of $880,000.

“Brazil I love you and I owe you,” Drake wrote. “Betting on Brazil.”

Oliveira is coming off of a win over Michael Chandler at UFC 309. The 17-year veteran rebounded from a close decision loss to Arman Tsarukyan, just his second defeat since 2017.

Topuria is yet to taste defeat in 16 professional bouts. “El Matador” won his first six UFC fights to set up a clash with featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski at UFC 298 and then became the first man to defeat Volkanovski in a 145-pound bout when he knocked out “The Great” in the second round. In his first title defense, Topuria pulled off another first when he finished Max Holloway via strikes, which had never been done before.

This past February, Topuria officially announced his plans to move up to lightweight to pursue a second title, which was subsequently vacated by Islam Makhachev, who is also chasing a second title at 170 pounds.

Drake has had some major misses with his UFC wagers, including losing $450,000 picking Israel Adesanya to beat Dricus du Plessis at UFC 305, and $355,000 backing Mike Tyson to upset Jake Paul in their boxing match this past November. However, Drake’s recent wager was a hit as he picked Volkanovski to become champion again at UFC 314. When Volkanovski defeated Diego Lopes to claim a vacant featherweight belt, Drake turned a $545,000 wager into a payout of over $900,000.

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