Stacked Cards for the week of March 8, 2010

By J. Alexander

Welcome to the first installment of a weekly blog dedicated to MMA trading cards.  You can expect to see informed discussions on all the latest trends in MMA collectibles, as well as, some opinions sure to incite debate. 

Main Event:  The First Two Weeks 

Topps’ third series of UFC trading cards, titled Main Event, has been live for two weeks now, and the reactions of collectors and fans are starting to arrive.  Beckett gave Main Event a kind treatment.  Tracy Hackler referred to the card’s design as “attractive, stunning, historic, and revolutionary.”  Another positive review came from traderretreat.com (graded the product with an A).  It would seem that the traditional trading card outlets were impressed by the looks and originality of Main Event.   The fact that there were 5 hits per box didn’t hurt either, as most other releases boast only 1 or 2. 

The collectors and buyers have had somewhat less enthusiastic receptions for the new series.  After groaning for months about the quick turn-around from UFC 09, many of us at BuyMMACards.com have been less than impressed with Main Event.  The look of the base cards left many people’s eyes hurting.  The Olde English font has been called cheesy, over-the-top, and hard to read.  The cage relics have been described as looking like something from Home Depot.  Sales results on ebay and other online outlets have reflected this lack of enthusiasm from collectors.  Prices are down across the board, but the rarest cards are selling well below what their counterparts from UFC 09 were selling for during the first weeks of its release.  Many of the hits from Main Event are already being sold for $.99 while the same relics from Round 1 and 09 are seeing a jump in their selling prices. 

The coming weeks will be very telling as to the long-term potential of Main Event.  New inserts and limited parallels may help keep product alive and kicking.  Keep your eyes open.

Rising Stars to Carry Versus Debut for UFC

Jon “Bones” Jones and Junior Dos Santos are two of the UFC’s fastest rising stars, and their trading cards are following suit.  The future of both the fighters and their cards will be on the line at a pivotal UFC show coming up this month.

The Topps UFC 09  Jon Jones Blue Auto was featured in the February issue of Beckett Magazine as the #1 hot card in MMA.  His Ultimate Gear from 09 and M.E. are consistently among the most sought after of their type.  Jones will be facing the toughest test of his career in Brandon Vera on March 21.  The bout will be the headliner of the first UFC show on Versus.  Clearly the UFC knows the star power that “Bones” possesses as they have tabbed him to carry their flag into uncharted waters.  This puts Jones in the company of Liddell, Belfort, Couture, Shamrock, and Franklin as fighters selected to represent the UFC to potential new audiences.  A strong performance could mean a spike in interest in his collectibles. 

Joining Jones/Vera at the top of the UFC on Versus 1 card is a bout featuring Junior Dos Santos against former title contender Gabriel Gonzaga.  Dos Santos made his Topps UFC debut in Main Event, and was added to 09 as a replacement for a Michael Bisping redemption.  Many UFC fans and card collectors were eagerly anticipating seeing JDS included in a Topps UFC series.  His cards have done well in the secondary market, so far.  A win against Gonzaga would not only put him in line for a title shot, but certainly increase the frenzy already forming around Junior.  Will these rising UFC stars continue their ascent?  Keep your eyes open.

Stacked Cards Price Check

Each week, I will be considering the hypothetical value of a few cards submitted to the BMMAC forum under the “Member Price Guide” section.  If you would like to have one of your cards considered, post it there with a picture and you might see it featured here.  The members on this site watch the market closely and can provide a very accurate estimation, as they are the ones buying and selling these.   More voices are better than one when it comes to finding an accurate estimation for the value of cards.    Follow the link, post a card, and you will be suprised at the quick market analysis from the guys who watch, buy, and sell MMA trading cards.    

See you next week, and KYEO!

J.

Southpark631 Runs into Hermes Franca on this weeks "That Kid from Youtube"

Fighter Box Break with Josh "The Dentist" Neer

New weekly segment from that kid that gets all those ttm autographs on youtube

Dylan, aka Southpark631, has always impressed me with his tenacity in getting autographs from fighters through the mail TTM.

I enjoy watching his videos because he gives us a glimpse how fighters really care about the fansby taking the time to read their mail, personally sign something, and then send it back.   Dylan is the master at getting autographs TTM.    We're excited to have him do a weekly spot on the blog showing what success he is having.   Be sure to subscribe to his videos and check the blog once a week to see his latest videos of encounters with fighters.  

Here is his first introduction to the blog.   Comment on his videos to show your support. 

Buymmacard Member Bignoyz aka The Bashbro's break another box of Topps UFC Main Event

The battery died, so watch the 2nd video to review the hits.

These guys are Crack'n!   Youtube busting your box and get featured on our homepage.

 Box 1,2, and 3 from a 5 box case.    Thanks Arbe79 for the videos!

Another Box Break from Buymmacards.com Members 

We broke an entire 5 box case early so that everyone could see what is in this new Topps UFC Product. 

Stop By the forum and check out the Group Case Break opportunities we have.  Enjoy the videos!

Topps UFC Main Event AKA Uncaged or Round 3 has arrived!!!

GO CHECK EM OUT

Teaser Box Break Videos of  Topps UFC Round 1

We broke these boxes 1 week before Topps UFC Main Event Released

The next release of Topps UFC Products will no longer be called Uncaged

Instead, the next product will be called MAIN EVENT. 

I think this was a good move since the fighters are actually Caged.  

The First BUYMMACARDS.com shirt surfaces at UFN 20

Buymmacards member, "MistaSniffles", was the first to sport our new shirts.   And what better place to show it off than at a Live, UFC event.   MistaSniffles designed our new shirts that are being printed this week, and he was able to get one printed himself in time for UFN 20.   He has also donated his time to design our banner on the homepage and a future coozie to keep our beverages cold.   MistaSniffles is just one of the many examples of the members on this site who love this sport and are passionate about our little community of MMA collecting enthusiasts.   He and others have donated their talents and time to make this a better place.   Look for our shirts to be posted soon.   They will be $20 shipped.  

Big thanks to MistaSniffles!

Future UFC Heavywieght Champion Shane Carwin thinks Buymmacards.com is "The Real Deal".  

When Shane Carwin heard about our desire to help bring collectors directly to fighters personal memorabilia so that they can have another income source, he backed up his support by encouraging collectors to support Buymmacards.  We are continuing to use our desire and network of connections to bring you, the collector, directly in touch with the fighters and their personal memoribilia.   Fighters can have a hard time making enough to train full time and sometimes they have a hard time filling sponsorships for their live events.   And while big memorabilia manufacturers fail to pay them what they are worth, we desire to help the fighters move their personal items by putting them directly in touch with MMA Memorabilia enthusiasts.   We are working hard with our contacts and web designers to provide the place for fighters to put their items in front of collectors, while benefiting from the profits made.  

To help us with this effort, Shane signed 25 of his Round 1 cards to help us raise support to finance this effort.  He signed 20 in blue and 5 in Red.   The first Red has recently been listed on ebay.   To view this auction, follow this link.

If you would like to see a video of Shane signing these cards, check out our video we posted on YouTube here.

We are currently making a lot of changes to focus on all fighter memorabilia as well as Trading cards. 

Thanks to Shane and all the members who make this site possible.

Box Break Video of TUF Fighters Brendan Schuab, Justin Wren, and MMAreligion

Watch the video at  MMAReligion 

It was hiliarious.  Connor from MMA Religion shot this video the morning of when Episode 4 would show on Spike.  That night we learned who "the snitch" was.  Brendan actually pulls "the snitch" in this video.  We also see TUF Fighter Justin Wren enjoying opening MMA trading cards for the first time.   Unfortunatly, they pulled a couple Junie Brownings.

Congratulations Justin Wren on your TUF win

Justin Wren recently busted open a box of UFC trading cards with us and MMAReligion.  The funny thing is, the day we shot the video, that night Brendan Schaub won his match.  And this week, Justin took out UFC vetern Wes Sims.   That was a sick arm triangle.   It was like watching classic old WWF with the ref checking the arm to see if the guy was out.   He definitly was.  

Be sure to head over to www.mmareligion.com and watch the box break video of Brendan and Justin.   Both of these fighters are featured in their dubut Rookie auto cards.

We picked the right fighters to sponsor at UFN 19.  Each received Fight  Night bonuses.  Plus the camera man gave us special coverage of Nate Quarry's Butt during the whole fight.  Thanks Mr. Camera Man!!!!!!

Buymmacards.com Makes their Debut in the Octagon!

Support Josh by Going To Josh Neers' Website and buy one of his shirts or Autographed Photo. 

I drove all day and worked on this all night so that the awesome people who come here could get a first look at 2009 Topps UFC!  

PART 1

PART 2

PART 3

And here are a couple snap shots of 2 boxes I broke tonight

Box 1

Box 2

Hope you enjoyed that sneak peak!   Lots more to come.   Sign up for an account and get listing!   Follow me on twitter to get updates.  Even better videos right around the corner!

Some Goodies from Topps UFC Round 1

According to a recent article from MMA Madness, We will once again have to WAIT for the much anticipated release of 2009 Topps UFC.  I remember being so excited and WAITING for UFC 100.  Not only because there were 2 title shots and the party we had, but also because I was finally going to be able to bust into a brand new box of 2009 Topps UFC "series 2".  My heart sunk when they announced a new release of August 26th.  And now, just a few minutes ago I read this release that they would not release until SEPTEMBER 21st!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!   I'm sure the WAIT will only make the day more sweeter, but right now, my walls are looking like swiss cheese.  

Check out this video of a tag team submission match. 

Joe Rogan masterminded this awesome event in History.  Go to his site and check it out!

BRUCE BUFFER 360

If this guy ever runs for president, He's got my vote. 

I have been waiting for Bisping to get beat ever since he pulled off that wierd decision over Matt Hammil. Havn't seen much of Cecil Peoples since then. I just want to commend Dan Henderson for being a true professional who put up with a lot of trash talk, and in the end, let his fighting speak louder than his mouth. I loved when he said "I just take a mental note".
In the second round that mental note turned into an overhand right that landed square on the face of a circling Bisping. And for a little iceing on the cake, Hendo gave him one more nice right hand to put him asleep for a few more seconds.
I absolutley loved this fight, and it was the highlight of the night for me. I will admit that Bisping impressed me when he dropped down to middlewieght, but man was he boring as a light heavy. All he ever said was, "I thought I won the fight" " I thought I won the fight". No way he can say that now. I'm sure he'll moan about the 2nd hit Hendo laid on his chin after he got caught by the slow 38 year old. His corner told him to stop circling to his left, but he kept it up and ate the nice over hand right.
I look forward to the next guy who makes Dan Henderson take a mental note.

Here is a video from mmascraps. Diego and Clay will be contenders in the lightweight division for a long time to come. I'm glad I have a red autograph of Diego! The first 30 seconds of this fight is just unbelievable. Clay Guida has one of the best chins I have ever seen! I had to share this to my fellow MMA Fans and Collectors. You may want to pause it for 5 min, then watch it unless you have unreal internet speed.

click here

How many of each Blue Autograph are there in 2009 Topps UFC Round 1?  Based on the odds written on each pack, and the number of fighters in each group, we came up with  the following. 

It is possible we are really bad at math, or there are different odds within the group.  For instance,  there could be less Gracie Autos than Rachelle Leah autos in Group C, but we are assuming they made an equal amount of each subject in each group. 

                                           Possible  number  of Blue Autographs that exist in Round 1

Click on fighter to find their autographs for sale

Group A- 96,000 packs/ 1:118 packs/ 4 fighters = 200 of each

What are the best cards in Topps UFC Round 1 and 2009 Topps UFC "aka series 2"? 

We have them for sale right now.  Including Red autographs, Blue Autographs, Packs, sealed boxes, Sealed cases for presale.  Click on our products tab and get ready to see the best cards put out by Topps UFC Round 1! 

We are the first to offer sealed cases of 2009 Topps UFC presales on the internet! as of 5/15/09!

  CLICK HERE FOR PRESALES

FIND WHAT YOUR ARE LOOKING FOR
Topps UFC Cases on Ebay!

Found 7 rare Hits including Rampage Jackson and Lyoto Machida.

The first ever UFC trading cards have been a smash!  Lets review some of the top sellers and what they are currently doing in the market.

First, we should start with the best, pound for pound fighters.  I know there is much debate on who this is, or who it could be in the future.  So lets start alphebetically as to show no bias. 

ANDERSON SILVA (notice how I used the first name. Sorry GSP FANS!)  

Anderson Silva has a few different cards in Round 1.  He has a base card,  a victorious debuts, a duel fight mat relic,  blue and red autographs, duel fight mat red autograph numbered to 25, gold and silver parallels of his base  card.  And Red parallels of his base card, Duel fight mat relic, and Victorious debuts.  To see what his cards are currently selling for on ebay, follow this link

GSP on Ebay

GSP has a base card, Ultimate Gear Relic, Red and Blue Autographs, and a few 1/1 cards including his Red Foil Parallel Base, and 4 top ten fights(all paralleled to 1 as well).   His red foil parallel has been snatched up on ebay as soon as it was listed by yours truley.  It is one of my many gems.  The second highly sought after card would be his Red Autographs, especially his Ultimate Gear.  Only 25 of these made. 

GSP will put his belt on the line at UFC 100 when he will face Thiago Alves.  Let's hope he wins so that we can see a future bout between him and Anderson Silva. 

LYOTO MACHIDA

Recently, Lyoto Machida has found himself in the argument for best, pound for pound fighter in  the world.  It could be because of his undefeated record.  It could be because he is now the LHW UFC Champion by beating   Rashad Evans (I'm yet to see a guy win by nipple twist).   Lyoto's cards have skyrocketed on ebay in the days following his win against Evans.  Click the following link to see his current cards for sale on EBAY.     

Lyoto Machida on Ebay

Lyoto has a selection of cards to choose from including his base card, Fight mat relic, and victorious Debuts.  Not to mention the gold and red parallels of each. 

 

BJ PENN

If BJ would stay at lightweight, he might be at the top of this list, but he has proven that he will not be the best welterwieght in the world.  He has lost matches to all three of the above fighters (he actually fought machida).  If BJ stays at lightweight, he could begin a reign of title defenses that could break records.  The reason I would rank BJ so high in best pound for pound is because of his raw talent.  If you have never seen the DVD "90 days", it is a great documentery following BJ's career, and the early days of the UFC.  There is footage of him winning the Brazilian World Jiu-Jisu Championship only after a few years of training.  BJ also has great boxing, a great take down defense (except with GSP), and he will not give up.  His next test against florian will be an indicator of how long we can expect BJ to keep the belt.  Florian brings similar skills as BJ, with possibly better stand up skills.  I still think BJ will kill him.  

BJ Penn on Ebay

 

FEDOR

We had to make sure to include Fedor Emelianenko!

I've found in forum after forum, if you leave out Fedor, you will get an butt chewin.   And there is good reason, especially with wins over such fighters as Colman, Mirko, Sylvia, Arlovsky, Hunt, Hong man, Herring, Goodridge, Lindland, and Nogueira.  That is quite the resume.  Right now the only person I think that could beat him silly is Jose Canseco (with the use a Louisville Slugger while Fedor is held by fellow steriod, smash brother, Mark Macguire).  I do know that people who only watch UFC might not know how good he is, and I personally look forward to him proving himself in the "superbowl" of Mixed Martial Arts.  He has taken out some good names, but unless you are in a spot where the best fighters can consistently attempt to knock you off the throne, I believe you still have a little more to prove to retain "best pound for pound" fighter in the world.  WIth that Fedor gets in my Top 5.  Plus by now, you can see the alphebetical approach was thrown out the window after the first two.  I don't want to get chewed out, so put these 5 in whatever order you wish. 

 

The Top 5 I've listed really have to do with the fighters current positions as Champions, and winning streaks.  Lesnar might make the list if he avenges his loss to Mir, and defends his belt a couple times. 

Ten Years ago, the list would have looked more like Gracie, Shamrock, Coleman, Hughes, and Tito.  But the evolution of fighters have nullified what made these old greats so unbeatable.  And in 10 more years, we will need a new list.  But until then, this is what being a fan is all about:  Supporting YOUR favorite fighter.

And now with the explosion of the sport, there are hundreds of guys who could go in and out of the Top 10 every time there is a major event.  Who knows when Alves, Nick Diaz, Robbie Lawler, Mike Brown, Faber, Mir, Jon Jones could move right into the top after a couple more wins. 

CURRENT MARKET PRICES FOR RARE TOPPS UFC CARDS

Researching a fighter can help you decide which cards are collectible

Use the Fight Finder below to research a fighters MMA Career. 

We have 2009 Topps UFC Presales!  Sealed boxes and cases.  Ships in July.  Round 1 and series 2

We have made it easy to find the 2009 Topps UFC Trading cards you are looking for.  Follow any of the following links to find what you are looking for fast. 

Topps UFC Cases on Ebay!

Check out this story on UFC.com about the upcoming UFC 101:

UFC.com: PENN vs. FLORIAN and SILVA vs. GRIFFIN to HEADLINE UFC 101 IN PHILLY

Las Vegas, NV (USA) -UFC® is coming to Philadelphia for the first time on Saturday, August 8th, and its bringing the big guns to the Wachovia Center for UFC 101, as BJ Penn defends his UFC lightweight crown for the second time against number one contender Kenny Florian, and UFC middleweight boss Anderson Silva jumps back to the 205-pound weight class to take on former light heavyweight champion Forrest Griffin.

"BJ Penn is called the Prodigy for a reason. He has proven to be dangerous in multiple weight classes but he is definitely at his best at 155," said Dana White, UFC President. "Now the lightweight champ defends his title against top contender Kenny Florian, who has improved by leaps and bounds since his UFC debut on the Ultimate Fighter . Originally known for his outstanding jiu-jitsu skills, Florian is now as well known for his devastating Muay Thai. Both of these guys excel standing and on the ground so I am expecting non-stop action in this world title fight."

"We are excited to finally be able to host a UFC event in Philadelphia," said Comcast-Spectacor President Peter Luukko. "With a world-wide audience watching on pay-per-view, the Wachovia Center will once again be in the national spotlight. This is a terrific opportunity for the facility, our company and most importantly UFC fans in the Greater Philadelphia Region."

Tickets for UFC 101 will go on sale Saturday, May 23 at 10am ET and will be priced at $600, $400, $300, $200, $100 and $50. Tickets are available via www.ComcastTIX.com, UFC.com, by phone at 1-800-298-4200, the Wachovia Center Box Office, or select ACME markets.

Looking to buy 2009 Topps UFC? This could greatly affect the price and places to buy. I pulled this from another site, makes sense why "the big boys" don't have presales yet. 

Source: The backstop

MAY 8th 2009

As you are well aware, the recent economic downturn has put strains on the trading card industry. All segments within our category have been negatively affected. During the past six months, Topps has put in place significant cost cutting programs that have impacted every area of our business in order to be prepared for the challenges ahead. While these changes were difficult to make, they were necessary in order for us to continue to meet our commitments.

In conjunction with our recent organizational changes, it is necessary for us to change our distribution model as well. Effective immediately, Topps will sell Hobby products directly to only authorized Topps Hobby Distributors and Topps Home Team Advantage Stores. All direct shipments to other distributors and non-HTA accounts will be suspended indefinitely. Each account affected by this change will receive a letter stating this announcement and will be encouraged to contact an authorized Topps Hobby Distributor or Topps Home Team Advantage Store to obtain future products.

We hope that you appreciate that these changes are necessary for Topps to continue to provide quality products.

Regards,
The Topps Company, Inc.

More Information released on Topps UFC Round 2

2009 Topps UFC Series 2 July Release

WOW,  Matt Hughes and Pat Miletich  Autographs! 

Email me at info@buymmacards.com if you would like a very nice Excel Spreadsheet  checklist of this 2nd series from 2009 Topps UFC. 

We are preselling these 2009 Topps UFC Series 2 on our site www.buymmacards.com by the case right now! 

Other Great MMA Products

 Topps UFC Cases on Ebay!

We put together a video "showing off" our Topps UFC Round 1 Collection. 

Here are a few sample cards that you can expect from Topps UFC Round 2 in July.  It may be called 2009 Topps UFC, and not Round 2.  

        My future pick for LHW Champ!

 PRESALES AVAILABLE NOW!  click here!

I found this video on youtube that does a good job of explaining Topps UFC Round 1

I was up late a couple nights ago, and saw the first box of Topps UFC Round 2 (may be called 2009 Topps UFC) show up on EBay. I was like “no way”, so I looked and it was someone offering the presale of a hobby box. I quickly searched Google and saw one or two companies offering a presale of them. I have a feeling Topps will run dry in a week.

I have already made up a spreadsheet for a Master list of Topps UFC Round 2. I’m just waiting on which fighters will be included. I will be looking to buy any Jon “Bones” Jones cards I can find. I think he will be the UFC Light Heavy weight Champion some day. He’s only 21 and made Stephan Bonner look silly. I am also excited to see the Diamond, Ruby, Onyx, and Gold Parallels that will be included in this set. It looks like the rarest cards will be the Octagon of Honor Autographs and Diamond Inserts.

I will update this Master Checklist and make it available for quick reference. Until then, you can view the framework of it (soon to be posted). It took me a good month just to figure out what was in Topps UFC Round 1. So this time I made a spreadsheet showing me what indeed the rarest cards are in the set. I just hope Topps doesn’t leave out the big name autographs like they did in Round 1.

Here are a few presale cases already showing up on ebay.

I remember the day I was watching a UFC Pay per view event and a box of First time ever released, UFC Trading cards were promoted. I said to myself “ I am going to buy a ton of those.” So I searched online for a release date for Topps UFC Round 1, and it said they would be coming out in February of 2009. So, as a consumer, I assumed they would show up in Wal-Mart some day. Boy, was I wrong. I called Wal-Mart weekly trying to find out when they were coming. I never thought of checking online card dealers.

Then one day in late February, I saw the cards being sold on EBay. Cases were selling for $1400. I waited two days, and they were $1800. I loaded up at an average of $1850. I bought as many as I could find, including many sets and individual cards off eBay. I bought every Anderson Silva, George St Pierre, B J Penn, Brock Lesnar, Randy Couture, Chuck Liddell, Royce Gracie cards I could find. I bought every Red Parallel I could find. I am the proud owner of the Chuck Liddell, B J Penn, Martin Kampman, and soon to be Anderson Silva Topps UFC Round 1 Red parallel 1/1’s. I have also picked up the Red Parallel 1/1 Anderson Silva Mat relic, which is featured on our home page www.buymmacards.com .

Our site is currently being built, but I will be selling a lot of Topps UFC Round 1 and Topps UFC Round 2 (may be called 2009 Topps UFC)cards, with many autographs of MMA fighters. The site will be a quick place to research fighters, and see what is for sale on the internet including EBay.

FIND GREAT MMA PRODUCTS NOW!

Topps UFC Cases on Ebay!

Coming soon! UFC and MMA trading cards will be available for purchase on this website! Check back soon for availability.

MEANWHILE

FIND WHAT YOUR ARE LOOKING FOR
Topps UFC Cases on Ebay!