In retrospect, Israel Adesanya might never have stood a chance.
Two of sports’ greatest jinxes were working against him.
Adesanya was stunningly defeated by Sean Strickland by unanimous decision Saturday night at UFC 293, losing his middleweight title in the process.
He wasn’t the only one who lost.
Hip-hop megastar Drake bet $500,000 that Adesanya would knock Strickland out, posting a picture of his wager on Instagram.
With Adesanya entering the bout a steep favorite, the estimated payout would have been $920,000.
Drake has long been teased as a so-called “curse” for athletes and teams he supports.
Often after he takes a picture with an athlete or team — or makes a large wager — that athlete or team loses or falls short of expectations.
There was Conor McGregor, Serena Williams, the Kentucky men’s basketball team — the list goes on.
But it wasn’t just Drake working against Adesanya.
The 34-year-old Adesanya is also the cover athlete for UFC 4, the latest video game for the MMA promotion.
Cover athletes for video games across sports have notoriously preceded rough seasons or events.
It began with Madden, the most prominent NFL video game, and the “Madden Curse.”
Michael Vick, Shaun Alexander, Marshall Faulk, Peyton Hillis — again, the list goes on.
“I had a different plan for this, but life throws curveballs at you,” Adesanya told reporters after his loss. “Win or lose, I wasn’t going to say much anyway, but right now, I lost tonight to the better man on the night and I just want to be with people who care about me, my team, so I’m going to go do that.”
The result marked one of the biggest upsets in UFC history, and ushered in new doubts about Adesanya’s future.
“Am I dreaming? Am I going to wake up? Someone hit me … I don’t cry much but I’m trying to keep it together right now,” Strickland said after the bout. “I give up so many brain cells to the MMA gods… I thought I’d be walking away a little bloody, a little broken up. I’m a little shocked that didn’t happen.”
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