8 Fighters Who Broke Drake’s Curse Including Tyson Fury: Can He Repeat History With $1 Million Bounty on His Luck Against Oleksandr Usyk?

It seems like the grain is against Tyson Fury tonight. While he battles criticism from his last performance, the pressure on him to win has since quadrupled after Drake recently placed his bet on Fury taking home the win. Well, that shows the rapper’s confidence in him against Oleksandr Usyk, right? Yes, but the world of sports also remains worried about the Drake Curse, which many fear has been placed on Fury tonight.

What is the Drake curse? The Canadian rapper is an avid bettor who puts up big bucks every time there is a high-stakes sporting event. However, his reputation on this front is not great. It is believed that whenever he places his bucks on a player, fighter, or team, they see the face of defeat. For instance, when Fury fought Francis Ngannou last year, Drake put his money on the Cameroonian fighter. Did he win that bet? Well, you know the results of the fight. He also put up big money on Ngannou when the Predator fought Anthony Joshua earlier this year. As most of you know, that too backfired badly with Ngannou being knocked out cold. But, there are a few instances when the curse has been broken and fighters have emerged victorious bringing him back his fortune plus some profit. Who are these fighters? Let’s take a look.

Who broke the Drake curse?

If there is anything that combat can attest to is the fact that superstitions hold no place in it. The Drake curse is a brilliant example of this assertion. Let’s take ‘The Gypsy King’ for this argument. He has overturned the curse once before. In October 2021, for their trilogy fight, Drake saw the Englishman as his favorite against Deontay Wilder. 

Fans feared that the support would take the shape of his infamous curse. However, at the end of the fight, these fears were put to rest. Despite being knocked down twice in round four, he defeated the Alabama hard hitter through an 11th-round knockout, overruling the infamous curse. At that point, Fury also questioned the premise of this jinx on his Instagram by posting an image of him with the rapper. He wrote, “Curse? No such thing pal.” Another example from boxing of the curse not taking its course is that of Gervonta Davis. 

Last year in April when ‘Tank’ fought Ryan Garcia, the rapper placed a bet of $1 million on Davis. Again, ardent fans of Tank remained concerned if the $1 million bet could cause their fighter the matchup. However, on fight night, Tank managed to give Garcia his career’s first defeat in a 7th-round KO, putting the curse to rest. Learning that his win had brought Drake some major bucks, he said on a podcast, “Tell him I need half of that! It’s pretty cool to have people like that that believe in me. It made me push even harder, so shoutout to Drake and the rest of the people that back me.” Next up was Logan Paul. 

Last year, the older Paul brother fought Dillon Danis in a Manchester fight. Ahead of the fight, given how Danis, in his pre-fight verbal jabs had gone below the belt at Paul and his fiance, Nina Agdal, the rapper placed his bets on him. He wrote on social media, “Never bet against personal vendetta and settling scores @stake @loganpaul.” On fight night, his $850,000 investment got him a staggering $1.3 million win after Paul won because Danis was disqualified after he attempted a choke on his opponent.

Apart from these noteworthy instances in boxing, there were times in MMA when the Drake Curse did not stand up to its fame.

The Fall of The Drake Curse in MMA

In April 2023, confident that Israel Adesanya would win the rematch at UFC 287 against Alex Pereira, Drake bet $500,000 along with another $400,000 on him winning through a knockout. As the ‘Last Stylebender’ won that night via a second-round knockout, Drake reportedly took home a sterling $2.275 million. Previously too, he had broken the curse by defeating Jared Cannonier at the UFC 276 (July 2022), helping Drake win his $1 million bet.

Dillon Danis, too broke the notorious Drake Curse. In his fight against Max Humphrey at Bellator 222 in June 2019, Danis secured a first-round submission victory. He was pictured with Drake ahead of the fight, a poignant symbol of the rapper’s support.

Paddy Pimblett and Molly McCann also defied the Drake Curse at UFC Fight Night: Blaydes vs. Aspinall in July 2022. Drake placed a bet of around $2.3 million on both Pimblett and McCann. McCann achieved a first-round TKO victory over Hannah Goldy. Paddy the Baddy also won by a second-round submission against Jordan Leavitt. Drake’s successful bets won him a payout of $3.7 million. Both fighters received Rolex watches from Drake as gifts.

Jon Jones also dispelled the Drake Curse when he returned to the UFC after three years. He fought Ciryl Gane at UFC 285 in March 2023. Drake bet $500,000 on Jones. He also placed two separate $250,000 bets on Jones winning via KO/TKO and submission. Jones won the fight with a first-round submission, earning Drake a $1.7 million payout.

Will Tyson Break the Curse, Yet Again?

The rapper on his Instagram stories lent his support to the WBC champion. He posted a screengrab of his bet on ‘Stake’. As per it, the rapper has bet $565,000 on Fury against Usyk. If he wins the matchup, Drake will take home a total payout of a million dollars at least. While Fury has broken the curse before, it remains to see if he can do the same this time around.

Do you think Tyson Fury will be able to break the Drake curse a second time? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below.