Report: Polymarket Trader Made $250k Due To UFC Announcing Mistake

A Polymarket trader made more than $252,000 by taking advantage of another scoring error made by UFC announcer Bruce Buffer. 

For the second time in two weeks, Buffer misread a fight's outcome, ruling Chris Padilla a Majority Decision winner over MarQuel Mederos at UFC 327. After a commercial break, commentator Jon Adik said that the fight had actually been scored as a Majority Draw. 

Per a report by "Decrypt" on the matter, Polymarket had assigned Padilla a 99.9% chance of winning the fight. But after the mistake was announced, each fighter's odds changed to 50-50. During that time, the trader wagered $500 on Mederos, resulting in an approximately 50,000% gain. 

The happenstance creates a greater scrutiny for prediction markets and their lack of regulation, considering mistakes from Buffer two weeks in a row have created a new opportunity to manipulate markets, intentional or otherwise. 

The report points to a trader named "JESUSCHRISTISGOOD" on Polymarket, among a handful that placed wagers following Buffer's mistake. Their profile pointed to a since suspended account on X that explained how the error was caught ahead of time.

The user reportedly said they checked the fight's official scorecard, and "after doing some maths" determined that the decision was different to what had been announced. 

Polymarket, as well as chief rival Kalshi, has said that they're refining systems for detecting suspicious transactions, while it has been argued that their platforms should be bound by tighter restrictions to prevent insider trading and market manipulation. 

Polymarket and UFC agreed a partnership in November last year. 

"By bringing prediction markets to the broadcast and arena, we're giving fans a new way to be a part of the action. Not just watching outcomes but watching the world's expectations evolve with every round," Polymarket CEO Shayne Coplan said at the time.