Justin Gaethje will have to overcome Charles Oliveira as well as the curse of musician Drake Saturday at UFC 274 as he bids for the lightweight championship.
Oliveira was stripped of the title on Friday after missing weight by a half-pound. Gaethje will earn the title with a win, but if Oliveira wins, the title will be vacant and he’ll be the No. 1 contender. Oliveira is a -140 favorite at BetMGM with Gaethje coming in at +140.
Drake put a massive bet on Gaethje, wagering $550,000 Canadian on Gaethje to win. The payout is $1.375 million Canadian if Gaethje is successful.
Drake hasn’t been the best at betting, however, so that’s something for Gaethje to worry about.
Oliveira-Gaethje is one of two title fights on the card, with a rematch for the women’s strawweight belt between Rose Namajunas and former champion Carla Esparza serving as the co-main event.
Yahoo Sports will have complete coverage of these fights and everything that goes down at UFC 274, so keep it locked here for all the details.
UFC 274 live blog
UFC 274 main card (Live now on ESPN+ PPV)
Lightweight: Charles Oliveira vs. Justin Gaethje
Strawweight: Rose Namajunas (c) vs. Carla Esparza
Lightweight: Michael Chandler def. Tony Ferguson by KO (front kick) at 0:17 of R1:
Light Heavyweight: Ovince Saint Preux def. Maurício Rua by split decision (29-28, 28-29, 30-27)
Welterweight: Randy Brown def. Khaos Williams by split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)Lightweight: Donald Cerrone vs. Joe Lauzon
UFC 274 preliminary card results
Welterweight: Francisco Trinaldo def. Danny Roberts by unanimous decision (28-28, 30-26, 30-27)
Catchweight (146.5 lbs): Macy Chiasson def. Norma Dumont by split decision (30-27, 28-29, 30-27)
Flyweight: Brandon Royval def. Matt Schnell by submission (guillotine) at 2:14 of R1:
Heavyweight: Blagoy Ivanov def. Marcos Rogério de Lima by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
UFC 274 early preliminary card full results
Welterweight: André Fialho def. Cameron VanCamp by KO (punch) at 2:35 of R1:
Flyweight: Tracy Cortez def. Melissa Gatto by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
Flyweight: C.J. Vergara def. Kleydson Rodrigues by split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
Strawweight: Lupita Godinez def. Ariane Carnelossi by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-26, 30-26)
Bantamweight: Journey Newson def. Fernie Garcia by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)