Early MMA Cards
By Henry Ruiz
In 2008, Topps and Zuffa, LLC signed an exclusive agreement to produce mixed martial arts trading cards. The first major distributed licensed UFC set 2009 Topps UFC Round 1 was released on February 5, 2009.
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Prior to Topps MMA cards MMA fighters were featured in several subsets and promotions.
TIMELINE
1995
1996
1997
1998
1999
2000
2001
2006
2007
2008
2009
The BBM Pro Wrestling sets published byJapanese Baseball Magazine (BBM) were composed of both men and women wrestlers and contained a variety of small subsets, including RINGS and Pancrase fighters.
1995 BBM Pro Wrestling
1996 BBM Pro Wrestling
1996 Gong Martial Arts - Vale Tudo: The Vale Tudo cards were part of a magazine insert trading card set put out by Gong Magazine in Japan. The set included other K-1, RINGS, Karate, and Kickboxing.
1997 BBM Pro Wrestling
1998 BBM Pro Wrestling
1998 Pancrase Hybrid Wrestling
1998 Keibunsha Pro Wrestling
1999 BBM Pro Wrestling
2000 BBM Pro Wrestling
2000 SEG Crave Entertainment UFC: The 10-Card Promo set was given out with a stick of Big Red gum to promote the UFC's first Video Game. SEG licensed product.
2001 BBM Pro Wrestling
2006 Topps Allen & Ginter
2006 Pride FC: The set was MMA's first full licensed trading card set. The set includes many future MMA legends.
2007 Sportkings Series A
2007 Rafo Figthers Borci Stickers
2008 Donruss Sports Legends
2008 Topps Allen & Ginter
2008 Donruss Americana II: The set is mainly made up of actors and musicians but included a couple of sports inserts. Ring Kings being one of them. Ring Kings was dedicated to the world of MMA.
2008 ProElite EliteXC: Promotional Cards were randomly inserted into Elite XC fight DVDs.
2008 Sportkings Series B
UD Prominent Cuts Insert Sets
*Non-MMA Trading Cards
While not an MMA trading card several fighters appeared on Kickboxing, Olympic, and Collegian Wrestling cards.
