Who is The African Fighter Who Lost Drake Millions?

It has been another sensational year of MMA action, with all of the brightest stars in the UFC being in action throughout 2022. However, one star that may be slightly disappointed in the manner in which his 2022 ended will be Israel Adesanya.

One of the best strikers in UFC history was dethroned at the top of the middleweight division in the middle of November, and his goal in 2023 is likely to revolve around getting his hands back on the championship that he lost in dramatic fashion. Aside from Adesanya losing his gold, it was also an expensive night for Canadian rapper Drake, who lost $2 million betting on the reigning champion to successfully defend his title.

Adesanya Loses Middleweight Title In Dramatic Fashion

Adesanya had been the dominant force in the middleweight division throughout his UFC career, but that dominance was brought to a shocking end at UFC 281 in the middle of November. It was a true grudge match-up against Alex Pereira, as the challenger had previously recorded victory against the Nigerian when they were both competing in professional kickboxing. Not only that, but Pereira inflicted possibly the worst defeat in Adesanya’s career, as he KOd the UFC star in the third round back in 2017.

The reigning champion was aware of his opponent’s strengths going into the UFC bout earlier this year, but he was helpless in stopping the Brazilian. Despite being the clear favorite with the best African sports betting sites, Pereira was able to score a TKO victory, as he scored the biggest win of his MMA career in the fifth round to win the UFC Middleweight title. The challenge for Adesanya is a simple one now, and that is to get back to the top of the division that he had dominated for a long time.

Second Professional MMA Defeat

Adesanya will only be too aware of what defeat feels like, as the loss against Pereira was the second time that he had tasted defeat in the octagon. However, it was his first defeat by knockout. His only other career loss was suffered as he stepped up into the light heavyweight division, as he challenged for the UFC title against Jan Blachowicz. However, Adesanya fell short of achieving that goal, despite putting on an excellent display of his talents.

Ultimately, the size difference worked against him at UFC 259, as the reigning champion was able to claim a unanimous decision victory. But, the Nigerian did recover from that defeat, which does highlight that he is unlikely to go away and allow Pereira time to celebrate the monumental victory.

Dominance In Middleweight Division

Adesanya’s decision to step up into the light heavyweight division wasn’t a shocking one at the time, as there was nothing else for the reigning champion to beat in the middleweight division. He captured the middleweight gold at UFC 243 in Australia, as he beat Robert Whittaker by KO in the second round of the title bout. Following that victory, he would subsequently successfully defend the title on two occasions, beating Yoel Romero by decision at UFC 248, and Paulo Costa by TKO at UFC 253.

Following his defeat against Blachowicz, Adesanya returned to the middleweight division in June 2021, just three months after losing on his light heavyweight debut. However, he made a vicious return to the octagon that night, with a dominant unanimous decision win against Marvin Vettori. That was followed by a second career win against Robert Whittaker, as he scored another unanimous decision win. In his final bout before the Pereira showdown, Adesanya once again successfully defended his title with a unanimous decision victory against Jared Cannonier at UFC 276.

Conclusion- What’s Next For Adesanya?

Next year looks set to be a massive one for Adesanya, but as a high-quality star, he still has a number of different options. The most likely would see him resume his rivalry with Pereira, and immediately invoke the rematch clause for a second showdown between the two. However, he could instead look to avenge another career defeat before looking to recapture his title, and that could lead to a showdown against Blachowicz.

A third option could also be on the table for the former middleweight champion, as a potential bout that has been on the cards for a while could actually happen. Therefore, we could see Adesanya once again step up into the light heavyweight division to take on Jiri Prochazka. However, that bout may need to wait until the end of 2023 after the former Light Heavyweight champion vacated the belt after picking up an injury.