A trader on the prediction market platform Polymarket converted a $676 wager into approximately $67,608 on Saturday after exploiting a brief but costly error during a UFC heavyweight bout. The mistake occurred when veteran ring announcer Bruce Buffer incorrectly declared Marcin Tybura the winner of his fight against Tyrell Fortune. The trader, identified as LlamaEnjoyer on Polymarket and Verrissimus on the social platform X, was watching the bout live when the erroneous announcement was made.
As soon as Buffer named Tybura the victor, Polymarket shares for Fortune collapsed to just one cent. LlamaEnjoyer moved quickly, placing the bet on Fortune at that deflated price before Buffer corrected himself and announced Fortune as the true winner. The entire sequence unfolded within roughly 50 seconds of the incorrect declaration, with the trader executing the wager before a UFC commentator stated on air, “We have a mistake.”
LlamaEnjoyer later said they had nearly placed a $100,000 bet on Tybura at 99 cents following the initial announcement, but held back after sensing something was wrong. Instead, they went the other direction, backing Fortune at near-zero odds. “There’s no way Tybura won that fight,” the trader said, reflecting on their reasoning in the moment.
The episode illustrates how rapidly odds can shift on prediction markets during live events, and how quickly an attentive participant can act on perceived discrepancies. The near 100x return LlamaEnjoyer captured came entirely from the window between Buffer’s erroneous call and his on-air correction. The incident has drawn significant attention to the speed and volatility inherent in real-time prediction market trading.
Prediction markets have emerged as one of the most active sectors within the broader cryptocurrency space. Trading volumes on such platforms have surpassed $10.4 billion so far in March, representing a tenfold increase compared to the same month in the prior year. Platforms including Polymarket, Kalshi, and Opinion have collectively attracted more than 865,000 users placing bets in March alone, covering topics ranging from sports and politics to financial results and cultural events.
Originally reported by CoinTelegraph.
