No one has lost more money betting against Alex Pereira than rap legend Drake
The ‘One Dance’ hitmaker is a fan of Israel Adesanya who backed him throughout his UFC title run.
‘Stylebender’ helped Drake cash a $1million bet by beating Jared Cannonier at UFC 276 in July 2022.
Drake went big with a $1,595,467 wager on Israel Adesanya ahead of his fight with Alex Pereira at UFC 281 in November 2022.
Drake meets Alex Pereira after backing against him
‘Champagne Papi’ lost a massive chunk of money when Periera KO’d Adesanya in the fifth round of their first UFC fight, which followed a long rivalry in kickboxing that saw him pick up two more wins against his nemesis.
Still, Drake remained loyal when the middleweight duo rematched for the belt at UFC 287 in April 2023.
In two separate bets, he backed Adesanya to the tune of $900,000 before he put ‘Poatan’ to sleep in their fourth fight.
Drake won all the money back he lost at UFC 281. Since then, he’s lost it all again by backing Adesanya throughout his recent poor run of form, which includes back-to-back title defeats against Sean Strickland and Dricus du Plessis.
The 38-year-old decided to keep his money and not bet on Adesanya’s latest fight against Nassourdine Imavov, which saw the UFC Saudi Arabia main event end in a shock second-round knockout for the French ‘Sniper’.
Drake did back Pereira to beat Jamahal Hill at UFC 300 – he won $519,750 when their fight ended in a KO.
So, it was all friendly when the two men came together at a concert in Sydney, Australia on Saturday.
A video that’s going viral shows Drake shaking Pereira’s hand and thanking him for coming to the show.
Drake names his favorite UFC fighter
Both Adesanya and Pereira failed to get a mention when Drake recently revealed his favorite UFC fighter.
Nate Diaz takes that honor, with Conor McGregor also getting some love from the five-time Grammy winner.
“I’m going to answer this question strictly based on just somebody who, to me, is the most thorough,” Drake replied when asked to name his all-time favorite UFC fighter in December. “Like, you just can’t get more thorough than this guy.
“I respect people that you are where you’re from and nothing else can change you. The money, the wins, nothing. So, to me, it’s Nate. That’s my favorite fighter because Nate is just crazy through and through.
“Obviously, of course, I have other favorite fighters. I love Conor [McGregor] with all my heart, that’s my guy.
“I’m talking about if they are rappers, who would I listen to? I’d listen to Nate and Conor. Nate is just one of those people. Nate is gonna Nate and that’s it. I respect the Diaz Brothers, shout out to them.”