Drake places massive $700,000 bet on Sean Strickland vs. Dricus du Plessis, sends message to Dana White

Drake is back in the MMA betting game, and this time, he's putting a hefty $700,000 on Sean Strickland to retain his UFC middleweight title against Dricus du Plessis at UFC 297.

The rap superstar shared his betting slip on Instagram Stories, tagging UFC CEO Dana White with the caption:

"And we are going to fight night @danawhite."

Drake's betting endeavors in the UFC have gained attention due to the infamous 'Drake curse', where fighters supported by the rapper have faced unexpected defeats. Notably, he bet $500,000 on Israel Adesanya to defeat Sean Strickland at UFC 293. 'The Last Stylebender' lost his title via unanimous decision.

That said, Drake's clearly feeling confident about Strickland's chances. The middleweight champion faces a tough challenger in du Plessis, who boasts a 6-0 UFC record with five finishes. Despite the near-even odds, If Strickland emerges victorious, the music superstar will walk away with a $1.4 million payout.

UFC 297 is set to take place at the Scotiabank Arena in Toronto, Drake's hometown. In addition to the main event, there will be a co-main event featuring Raquel Pennington and Mayra Bueno Silva for the women's bantamweight title, which was vacated by Amanda Nunes following her retirement.

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Kelvin Gastelum predicts Sean Strickland vs. Dricus du Plessis

UFC welterweight contender Kelvin Gastelum has weighed in with his prediction for the middleweight championship showdown between Sean Strickland and Dricus du Plessis at UFC 297. Sharing his insights on his YouTube channel, Gastelum expressed his belief that Strickland will secure victory by TKO:

"Prediction at the end of the day will be Sean [Strickland] winning by TKO maybe in the third or fourth round. He's not a guy that goes out and finishes fights early, right? So I think he can, however, get it done later in the fight. Maybe in the fourth or fifth rounds, he'll get a TKO victory. I don't know how, I don't know which way, don't ask me, but that's my pick... You can bet the house on that."

Check out Gastelum's prediction below (05:44):