Heavy Anticipation: Brock Lesnar's First Autograph Card

The fact that 2009 Topps UFC shipped to distributors last week likely means the collecting world is now mere hours away from the history-making introduction of Brock Lesnar’s first certified autograph trading cards.

As of Tuesday afternoon, none had made their way to the secondary market.

Much has been made about the utter lack of Lesnar autographs, and there’s been a growing buzz around their debut ever since Topps first announced that it had secured the UFC heavyweight champion for the second installment of its UFC franchise.

Lesnar’s base Fighter Autograph card from 2009 Topps UFC (seen here for the first time) is a one-in-323-pack powerhouse sure to have hardcore MMA fans as well as mainstream card collectors looking to put a death clutch on any that surface online as soon as they surface online.

In addition to appearing on a limited Red Ink parallel of his base autograph, Lesnar also appears in the microscope-scarce Bloodlines autograph parallel set that’s seeded one in 1,375 packs.

Given the relative scarcity of Lesnar’s first autographs and the maddening demand for Topps’ maiden UFC product, providing preliminary pricing estimates on Lesnar’s premiere ink is quite difficult. But know this: The Beckett value for Georges St-Pierre’s Red Ink autograph from Round 1 was raised last week — to $1,000.

Either Lesnar certified signature – the base, the Red parallel or the Bloodlines – promises to be a bona fide smash, fitting for a 6-3, 265-pound behemoth who knows a thing or two about making an impact.

— Tracy Hackler