Cards From the Best Fights of the Year
2009 was another banner year for the UFC – the sport was gaining mainstream popularity with the success of The Ultimate Fighter, which became appointment viewing for MMA fans worldwide, and the incredible fights that took place inside the Octagon. Some may argue this was one of the best years of action in the history of the UFC. The Ultimate Fighter was in full swing, establishing contenders in every weight division and hardcore favorites such as BJ Penn, Lyoto Machida, Georges St-Pierre, and more, cementing their hall of fame legacies.
The best part? At this time, Topps had multiple sets under their belt, and collectors had an exciting and diverse selection of cards to add to their libraries.
These cards have been chosen because of the exciting in-cage performances by the featured UFC fighters and the historical context of the fights themselves. Some of these fights changed UFC history forever.
Top Five Fights of 2009
2006 Topps Allen & Ginter #310 Randy Couture RC
UFC 102 – Antonio Minotauro Nogueira vs Randy Couture
Fight info
• One of the greatest heavyweight fights of all time. a back-and-forth must-watch for all fans.
• one of the few fights between a former Pride heavyweight champ and a former UFC heavyweight champ
Card info
• Featuring the iconic Allen & Ginter style, this card came out three years before Topps acquired the entire UFC license
• card released the year Couture was inducted into the UFC Hall of fame
card back
• A short bio describing Couture’s greco roman wrestling background and how he became the first two-weight division champion in UFC history before his retirement in 2006 (which he ended shortly thereafter in 2007)
2009 Topps UFC Round 2 Fight Poster #FPR-UFC94 Georges St Pierre vs. BJ Penn 2
UFC 94 – Georges St-Pierre vs BJ Penn II
Fight info
• One of the most anticipated fights in history to that point
• The fight was marred by “greasegate” in which St-pierre was accused of rubbing vaseline on his body to negate penn’s elite grappling, but was cleared by the nevada state athletic commission
Card info
• 2009 Topps UFC Round 2 introduced the popular “fight poster” cards
• 1 of 25 fight poster inserts
card back
• The entire UFC 94 card is displayed on the back which included future legends such as jon jones, lyoto machida, nate diaz, clay guida, jon fitch, and stephan bonnar just to name a few
2010 Topps UFC Series 4 Highlight Reel #188 Anderson Silva Vs Forrest Griffin
UFC 101 – No. 3 Anderson Silva vs. Forrest Griffin
Fight info
• After clearing out the middleweight division, Anderson had no choice but to move up and take on former light heavyweight champ FORREST GRIFFIN
• One of the greatest one-sided victories between two high-level fighters in history. an incredible display of Silva’s abilities
Card info
• 2010 Topps UFC series 4 base card
• 4 parallels, including gold foil and onyx
card back
• A recap of the fight which sums up how absolutely incredible silva was in this fight – fans witnessed greatness in person
2009 TOPPS UFC Round 2 Gold #67 Dan Henderson RC
UFC 100 – Dan Henderson vs Michael Bisping
Fight info
• The fight took place at ufc 100 – one of the most anticipated events ever to that point, and following a drama-filled The Ultimate Fighter 9 season
• still considered one of the greatest knockouts in the history of combat sports to this day, started the legend of the H-bomb
Card info
• 2009 Topps UFC Round 2 base card
• has henderson as “heavyweight” on the front and “middleweight” on the back, which makes it even more interesting, considering henderson fought in various weight classes throughout his career. Additionally, the picture on the card is a perfect capture of the split-second before the knockout
card back
• a short bio of Henderson, the two time greco roman wrestling olympian and the only two-division Pride Ufc champion, followed by a cheeky line about his ultimate fighter 9 coaching stint (in which bisping’s UK team dominated his team)
2010 Topps UFC Main Event Top 10 Fights of 2009 #1 Diego Sanchez vs Clay Guida
No. 1 Diego Sanchez vs Clay Guida – The Ultimate Fighter 9 Finale
Fight info
• to this day, one of the most insane fights ever witnessed inside the Octagon
• fight of the night and overwhelming fight of the year
Card info
• 2010’s UFC series 4 also had base cards for guida and sanchez showcasing images from this fight
• one of three variations on this top ten fight card
card back
• A recap of sanchez’s split-decision win over fellow contender Guida, which granted him a lightweight title shot against BJ Penn later in 2009
