Next Topps UFC product will include fight-used cards somebody sank their teeth into
By Chris Olds | Beckett Sports Card Monthly Editor
The next UFC release from Topps will be one you can sink your teeth into.
No wait …
The upcoming UFC release from Topps will include one insert set that will have some collectors champing at the bit for a certain few cards.
Err … When 2012 Topps Finest UFC arrives in July, it will include cards that will include complete fight-used mouthpieces embedded into the cards.
“Its just an ongoing effort by our company to be innovative, to push the bounds, to do our best to give our collectors great content and to connect them with their favorite fighters,” said Topps VP Mark Sapir. “We are all about bringing the game, the fight, etc., to our collectors and this is just another special way we plan to do this.”
A select number of fighters will cough up their mouthpieces for the Grill Gear Relic set in the upcoming release, the company teased on Monday.
So, what does a fight-used mouthpiece cost Topps to obtain these days?
“The mouthpiece is part of a broader deal,” Sapir said. “UFC fighters really want to partner with us, really want to give their fans something special. [They are] more open to creative unique ideas and offerings, they truly are all about giving to their fans and as a result are more open to our ideas.”
Naturally, most reactions to the cards might be the same as your own — but the fighters had their own reactions, too.
“I think reaction is ‘Really?’ and then ‘Cool,'” Sapir said. “They get it, they know their fans. They know how rabid their fans are, how unique their fans are and how their fans really want to celebrate their fandom and passion for the sport and fighters.”
The cards will be redemptions based on their thickness — they cannot be easily placed into packs. A final checklist is still pending.
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Chris Olds is the editor of Beckett Sports Card Monthly magazine. Have a comment, question or idea? Send an email to him at colds@beckett.com. Follow him on Twitter by clicking here.
I’m shocked… not quite sure what to think, or want. Would I be happy to pull one? Would I just say to my friends, “Here is my Nolan Ryan auto, my Pete Rose Auto Jersey, and my Frank Mir mouth guard?” If this is a one off in this set only, and not every year, it could be a very very unique piece of memorabilia, or it could just remain… well… creepy.
Do they ship them in BIO-HAZARD bags?
it would be interesting to pull one but for myself i would turn around and sell it right away
What next, their protective cups?
lmao….. I guess anything is collectable these day! And I pray they DON”T make a “cup” card!!! I would hate to pull one of those cards (protective cups!)
This is a very unique and innovative idea. A lot of the collectors we deal with have expressed interest in these and they’re currently searching for them.