Jeremy Fullerton of Topps talks UFC trading cards
With a UFC video game, action figures and even magazine, it was only a matter of time before we got UFC trading cards. You remember trading cards, right? Those thick pieces of paper that you used to buy in the 90′s in hopes of getting a Michael Jordan card (or for me, looking for the Spiderman hologram in Marvel’s 94 series). Collecting cards has become serious business today, and I decided to learn some more about this second wave of UFC cards by talking with Jeremy Fullerton, the UFC editor at Topps.
Q: Topps is one of the most well known sports trading card companies, what made them jump into MMA finally?
A: I know that there was a friendship between Dana White and Micheal Eisner and it just kind of built up from that. Dana was on Michael’s show that he had at the time and the relationship built from that. We saw the popularity of MMA and UFC in particular growing and thought it was a great opportunity for both companies.
Q: Was there any fear in making cards for a still budding sport that sometimes has a negative public view?
A: I don’t think there were fears per se, I think there was some caution. We were unsure of how well received the products would be in the market. Would UFC fans take to card collecting if they were not collecting already and would our current card collectors absorb or be interested in UFC cards?
Q: On that note, is this the kind of thing a casual fan can jump into or are these for hardcore collectors?
A: I think anybody who is into UFC can pick these up and have fun opening up the packs and checking out the cool pictures on them. The back of the cards were all written by UFC writer Tom Gerbasi so they are very informative and fans can enjoy that as well.
Q: There was a slight delay between last years cards and this years card, what happened?
A: There were a few different factors involved, we had to get all our ducks in a row if you will. We had to find the right images, right info, etc. We were hoping to have the cards out in July when we planned but the delay gave us a silver lining since we could add the TUF 10 fighters into the cards. By no means was the delay made to get them in the cards but it was a happy coincidence.
Q: So the delay is really giving these fans a reward?
A: Sure, these cards are extra autographs and some boxes (if you buy the boxes) will now have three autographs because of those TUF 10 autograph cards.
Q: This is the second series of Topps UFC cards, how did last years line go?
A: I think it was recieved tremendously well by both UFC fans and trading card collectors. The demand outweighed the supply and we hoped to rectify that slightly this year so more people can get these cards. We at Topps and UFC were surprised by this.
Q: So what are some of the new cards you will have in these packs?
A: Like I mentioned, we have the TUF 9 and TUF 10 autograph cards, all those fighters signed cards. We have Brock Lesnar, Lyoto Machida, Relic cards for all of these fighters, which are memorabilia pieces of shorts or shirts or things these fighters wore when they fought or trained. We have different inserts that feature the fighters heritage called “Bloodlines” and there will be random fight posters throughout the UFC. We also are bringing back other special cards, such as parallel cards which are different colors for different foil stamping which are limited to a certain number, some being 1 of 1 even, meaning that there is only one in existence for that certain kind.
Q: These relic cards sound really cool, tell me more about that and who participated?
A: They are really neat! We get a shirt or a piece of the octagon or shorts from different fighters or personalities and we cut them into smaller pieces and embed them into the cards so you can get a GSP relic card where its a piece of his shirt that he trained in fighting for. We have GSP, Shane Carwin, Frank Mir, Brock Lesnar and a whole slew of other fighters and some personalities like Herb Dean, Arianny and Rachelle and Bruce Buffer!
Q: You mentioned alot of newer names, are you going to be making any cards of any UFC legends or golden age fighters?
A: We have Kevin Randleman, Bas Rutten and Royce Gracie in this set and there are plans to do more down the road as we do more releases that are more familiar with old school UFC fans.
Q: Is there an idea that fans have asked for or that you want to do that has not been made yet in the current lines?
A: Everything is so brand new that we are getting so many different ideas and we love to hear them from the fans. We get feedback from some people like “How come a certain fighter isn’t in the autograph list?” and stuff like that but most of the time its not for a lack of trying, it is just getting a deal in place to get them in the cards.
Q: I used to be a collector of Marvel and comic cards back in the 90′s, and back then cards seemed stronger. Has the market gotten weaker, stronger or the same level since then?
A: Back in the 90′s the market really exploded. It has since gone down a little but the trading card market on a whole is still very strong and the UFC collectibles are extremely strong right now as far as popularity. We have seen sell outs of both of these products and we definitely think it is very strong.
Q: Is there the possibility of seeing any other MMA companies made by Topps such as Strikeforce or even any Japanese companies?
A: Right now our relationship is mutually exclusive for the time of our contract. We are the only providers of UFC trading cards and we will only produce UFC trading cards right now.
If you are interested in buying some UFC trading cards, they are available in your local trading card stores, which are listed on Topps.com, or you can buy them on their webstore at Topps.com and UFC.com, as well as Wal-Mart or Target. You can also follow Jeremy’s blog at www.ufc-topps.blogspot.com.
