Drake Bets $650,000 on Van's UFC 331 Flyweight Title Defense vs. Pantoja

UFC 331 took place on Saturday, September 19, 2026, at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles, featuring a flyweight title rematch between champion Joshua Van and former champion Alexandre Pantoja. Van had won the belt in December 2025 at UFC 323 when Pantoja suffered a dislocated elbow in the opening seconds, resulting in a TKO stoppage less than 30 seconds into their first fight. Van defended the title once before this rematch, earning a fifth-round knockout against Tatsuro Taira at UFC 328 in May 2026.

Rapper and entrepreneur Drake posted a $650,000 wager on Van's victory to his social media on fight day, accompanied by the message "I don't know bro … but he better win." The bet was placed through Stake, a cryptocurrency gambling platform with which Drake has a brand partnership. If Van won, Drake stood to earn $448,500 in profit. Drake has a documented history of high-profile UFC wagers, including bets on Conor McGregor against Max Holloway at UFC 329, Jake Paul against Anthony Joshua, and Israel Adesanya against Dricus du Plessis.

The co-main event paired top-10 lightweights Arman Tsarukyan and Mauricio Ruffy in a five-round bout. Tsarukyan was making his return to the Octagon after a nearly one-year layoff since November 2025, entering on a five-fight winning streak that included a victory over Charles Oliveira at UFC 300. Ruffy had won four of his past five fights, with two knockout victories in 2026 against Rafael Fiziev and Michael Chandler. The main card also featured featherweight veteran Patricio Pitbull against Doo Ho Choi, heavyweight prospect Gable Steveson against Sean Sharaf, and a light heavyweight bout between Alonzo Menifield and unbeaten prospect Iwo Baraniewski.