In a remarkable twist of events during a recent UFC heavyweight fight, a trader on the decentralized betting platform Polymarket managed to achieve a staggering nearly 100x return on their investment in under a minute. The incident was triggered by an error made by renowned cage announcer Bruce Buffer.
During the highly anticipated bout, Tyrell Fortune faced off against Marcin Tybura. Fortune secured his first victory in the UFC, but the celebration was momentarily marred by Buffer initially announcing Tybura as the winner. This incorrect announcement lasted less than a minute before Buffer corrected his mistake, declaring Fortune the true victor.
The trader, known as LlamaEnjoyer on Polymarket and Verrissimus on social media platform X, seized the opportunity presented by Buffer’s blunder. While Tybura’s shares surged toward 99 cents following the erroneous announcement, Fortune’s shares plummeted to a mere 1 cent. LlamaEnjoyer revealed that they had nearly placed a substantial $100,000 bet on Tybura when they noticed the discrepancy and decided against it at the last moment. Instead, they opted to invest $676 in Fortune shares at just 1 cent each.
Seconds later, as the UFC swiftly rectified the announcement, Fortune’s shares skyrocketed to $1, resulting in an incredible profit for LlamaEnjoyer. “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,” the trader commented on X.
This incident highlights the volatility in prediction markets, particularly during live sporting events where immediate announcements can cause rapid fluctuations in share prices. It raises pertinent questions regarding the protocols for payouts when errors occur at the source, in this case, the UFC announcer who provided the initial incorrect result. Although LlamaEnjoyer’s actions were legitimate, the situation could lead to disputes regarding the resolution of contracts and payouts, depending on how the platform interprets the source of truth for the betting outcome.
