Drake watches cageside as he loses insane $700k UFC 297 bet on ...

DRAKE was octagonside as he watched Sean Strickland cost him nearly three-quarters of a million dollars.

The rapper was in attendance at the Scotiabank Arena in Toronto on Saturday night to watch Strickland make the maiden defence of his middleweight title in the main event of UFC 297.

Sean Strickland made the first defence of his middleweight title at UFC 297.Credit: AP Rapper Drake was in attendance to watch Strickland take on Dricus Du PlessisCredit: GETTY The music sensation lost a whopping $700,000 in Bitcoin on the fightCredit: INSTAGRAM

Avid UFC fan Drizzy decided to up the stakes for the fight by placing an outrageous pre-fight wager on the bout.

The 'God's Plan' star bet a whopping $700,000 in Bitcoin on fan favourite Strickland to retain his belt, which would've pocketed him a cool $1.4million.

The Canadian shared his bet slip to his Instagram story, tagging UFC president Dana White and writing: "And we're going to fight night."

But his payout didn't come to fruition as Du Plessis produced a stellar display to end Strickland's brief reign as middleweight king via split decision.

MMA fans were quick to comment on Drake's heavy loss, with one saying: "Drake lost the bet and they playing God's Plan."

Another said: "Look at how much money Drake just lost."

And another said: "Lol Drake just lost 700k just like that."

One South African MMA fan: "Drake just lost $700000.00. Our boy did it."

Dricus Du Plessis roars after having his hand raisedCredit: Reuters

Another chimed in: "Drake just lost $700K because South Africa's #Dricus du Plessis won the fight. Tshotsho!"

Victory over Strickland saw Du Plessis become only the UFC's fourth African champion and the first hailing from South Africa.

The 30-year-old was overcome with emotion as he said: "This is history, South Africa!"

The former KSW and EFC champ was quick to give the fallen Strickland his props, saying: "He has a super strong jab.

"It feels like someone's hit you with a rock, it's very deceptive, I knew if I pressured I could get through it.

"I tried to kill you in there and you are one hell of a man, Strickland."

Du Plessis wasted no time in revealing plans for his first title defence, calling out former champion and rival Israel Adesanya.

He said: “There’s a man who tried to take my shine, he lost his shine, and now I’ve got his shine.

“Israel Adesanya, get your ass back in this cage.”

Dricus Du Plessis was overcome with emotion as he hoisted the middleweight title in the airCredit: AP