Polymarket trader exploits UFC blunder, turns $676 into $67,000 in under a minute
The episode underscores how quickly prediction market prices can whipsaw on live-event errors.
What to know:
— A Polymarket trader turned about $676 into $67,000 in under a minute after UFC announcer Bruce Buffer briefly named the wrong winner of a heavyweight bout.
— The episode underscores how quickly prediction market prices can whipsaw on live-event errors and raises questions about how platforms should handle payouts when the official source of truth makes a mistake.
A trader pulled off a nearly 100x return on decentralized betting platform Polymarket in less than a minute, thanks to a blunder by a UFC announcer.
In Sunday’s UFC heavyweight bout, Tyrell Fortune beat Marcin Tybura to secure his first UFC victory. But the event was not without drama. Cage announcer Bruce Buffer initially read the result in favor of Tybura, a result that stood for less than a minute before Buffer corrected the mistake.
LlamaEnjoyer, a Polymarket trader, also known as Verrissimus on X, capitalized on the error, turning roughly $676 into $67,000.
When Tybura was named victor, his shares spiked toward 99 cents and Fortune’s collapsed to about 1 cent. LlamaEnjoyer said they almost placed a $100,000 bet on Tybura at 99 cents, but stopped when they realized something was awry. Instead, the trader bought $676 worth of Fortune shares at 1 cent. Seconds later, when the UFC corrected the announcement and the shares immediately jumped to $1.
“I almost bought Tybura at 99¢ with $100k. Stopped, realized something was off. Cancelled my order, scooped up 1¢ shares instead. The UFC corrected the winner seconds later. Easiest 100x ever,” Verrissimus said on X.
LlamaEnjoyer’s quick thinking illustrates how fast prediction market prices can swing during live events, especially when big announcements are misread or misreported.
The incident also raises questions about how payouts are handled when there’s an error at the “source of truth” — the reference that contracts rely on to settle outcomes. Since the error originated from the UFC announcer, there could be a dispute over payouts or contract resolution, even though the trader’s actions remain fully legitimate.