Is Israel Adesanya set to face the 'Drake Curse' at UFC 276?
Ahead of the UFC 276 weigh-ins, Israel Adesanya had a cordial chat with rapper Drake over FaceTime.
The musician said during the call that he had bet a "light million" on 'The Last Stylebender' and was positive about a good return on his investment:
"You know, I put a light million up... return on investment is a lot. I just wanna wish you good luck. I love you brother. You're a different man, but I have a deep, deep, deep level of respect for you."
Adesanya appreciated Drake's gesture and also mentioned that he felt "blessed" to have watched Drake perform live on two different occasions.
Watch their interaction below:
Drake has quite the reputation for losing money on sports bets. In fact, he has done it on so many occasions that the singer is considered unlucky for whichever athlete or team he bets on. The internet, undefeated in its ability to find humor in all things, has named the phenomenon the 'Drake Curse'.
Conor McGregor infamously fell victim to the curse after he was seen with Drake ahead of his colossal clash with Khabib Nurmagomedov.
Watch McGregor bring Drake out for his UFC 229 weigh-in:
Anthony Joshua failed to deliver on his promise to break the curse after he posed with the rapper before his first fight with Andy Ruiz Jr.
Jorge Masvidal lost to best friend-turned-arch nemesis Colby Covington at UFC 272 after the Grammy winner wagered a massive amount on 'Gamebred'.
More recently, Drake lost a huge sum after betting on Justin Gaethje, who got choked out by Charles Oliveira at UFC 274.
Will Israel Adesanya be able to break the curse? We shall find out on Saturday night.
Israel Adesanya invites Elon Musk to UFC 276
Israel Adesanya sent out a Twitter invitation for UFC 276 to an unlikely guest in Elon Musk.
The Tesla CEO made a comeback on the microblogging site after a hiatus of 10 days to pay tribute to recently deceased YouTuber Technoblade. Next, he tweeted about feeling "bored," to which the UFC middleweight champion responded, suggesting that Musk attend UFC 276.
Israel Adesanya wrote:
"Come to #UFC276... It's gonna be EPIC!!!"
UFC 276 is set to go down at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on July 2, Saturday, headlined by a battle between Israel Adesanya and Jared Cannonier over the 185lbs belt. With a card stacked through the prelims and mains, UFC 276 will also see Alexander Volkanovski defend his featherweight strap in a trilogy with Max Holloway as the co-headliner.
Alex Pereira, the only fighter to ever knock Adesanya out, will face the UFC's resident controversial middleweight Sean Strickland, while Pedro Munhoz will attempt to derail Sean O'Malley's hype train.
With top names like Maycee Barber, Jessica Eye, Uriah Hall, and Donald Cerrone in the prelims and early prelims, UFC 276 promises to be nothing short of a blockbuster.