Topps Releases Info on 2009 UFC 'Fighter Issue' Cards

Just days before the once-delayed ship date of Topps’ heavily anticipated 2009 Topps UFC, the company on Wednesday released information regarding the existence of “Fighter Issue” personal-use versions of the product’s Ultimate Fighter 9 and 10 certified autograph cards.

Consider it a preemptive strike thrown in an effort to thwart potential confusion and counterfeits.

All in-product copies of the TUF cards will be signed on-card. But just as it does at other made-for-card events such as the NFL Players Rookie Premiere and the Aflac High School All-American Baseball Classic, Topps also provided the fighters who participated in the TUF 9 and 10 photo shoots with an undisclosed number of specially marked non-autographed versions.

“The fighters received copies of their cards as souvenirs to keep, trade, give to their friends and family, etc.,” the company said via a post on its blog. “These cards were not signed in the presence of Topps or UFC representatives and therefore cannot be authenticated as such. Topps also does not place any hologram stickers on the cards, front or back.”

The cards — examples of which are shown below — are clearly differentiated on the front.

You can find additional Beckett coverage on 2009 Topps UFC, which should be live late next week, by clicking here, here, here, here and here. 

 — Tracy Hackler

Note: The actual Fighter Issue cards do not include “Topps File Copy.”