By the time the calendar turned to 2012, the UFC had fully absorbed the WEC, and Strikeforce fighters were slowly trickling in. Up to this point, heavyweights were the main attraction of combat sports in general, but the invasion of these lower-weight classes showed that the smaller guys could light the Octagon on fire. Not only did 2012 live up to the high standard of drama and excitement set by its best fights, it could be argued this year gave us some of the best fights we’ve ever seen. History was made with the new flyweight division, the bantamweight division was always entertaining, and every show was can’t-miss.
Let’s take a look at some of the cards that captured the top fights of 2012. These cards have been chosen not just because of the exciting in-cage performances by the featured UFC fighters, but also because of the historical context of the fights themselves. Some of these fights changed UFC history forever.
Top Five Fights of 2012
2013 Topps UFC Finest Finest Moments Gold Refractor FM-20 Georges St-Pierre /88
UFC 154: Georges St-Pierre vs Carlos Condit
Fight info
• condit was 13-1 in his last 14 fights leading up to this, and was undeniably the no.1 contender
• GSP was coming off an acl tear, and had taken plenty of damage in the previous decade. He had broken the consecutive welterweight title defense record at 6, and with this win it was 7.
Card info
• 25 finest moment cards with four refractor parallels Blue Refractors (#/188), Gold Refractors (#/88), Black Octa-Fractors (#/8) and SuperFractors
card back
• details surrounding the location and date of ufc 154, and a recap of GSP’s successful recovery after ACL surgery – looking better than ever in a bloody back-and-forth battle against condit.
2012 Topps UFC Bloodlines Country Flag #104 Demetrious Johnson /188
UFC on FX: Demetrious Johnson vs Ian McCall I
Fight info
• This was the beginning of the UFC’s flyweight tournament and one of the only times Demetrious “Mighty Mouse” Johnson looked mortal in his entire career
• Had Mccall not showboated at the end of the fight, he might just have won
Card info
• 150 card base set
• five parallels (including flag, which is 1/188)
card back
• A recap of johnson’s tough bantamweight title loss to the much bigger Dominick Cruz, and his path to the first-ever flyweight title match against Joseph Benavidez with his wins over ian mccall
2012 Topps UFC Bloodlines #120 Benson Henderson
UFC 144: Benson Henderson vs Frankie Edgar I
Fight info
• Frankie edgar was always undersized but fought like a superhero, but Ben Henderson put a stop to his run and was the first of the incoming WEC fighters to win ufc gold
• Edgar would eventually move down to 145 and 135, and benson to 170, making Edgar’s performance even more impressive
Card info
• over 150 fighters featured
• Bloodlines 2012 is a stacked set with fighting forefathers, jumbo relic parallels, and dual autos, among others
card back
• A recap of Henderson’s phenomenal run in the ufc after losing the Wec lightweight title to anthony pettis in the last wec show. He took the ufc lightweight belt on a four-fight win streak over the likes of Jim Miller and clay guida
2012 Topps UFC Bloodlines Country Flag #34 Chan Sung Jung /188
UFC on Fuel TV: The Korean Zombie vs. Poirier Chan Sung Jung vs Dustin Poirier
Fight info
• Both WEC vets were known for their exciting fights, and this was expected to be a banger, but this went beyond any expectations with a shocking submission finish
• This marks the first loss of poirier’s ufc career – he would go on to become a hall-of-fame-worthy ufc legend
Card info
• 150 card set with flag parallels (1/188)
card back
• a gushing look at The Korean Zombie’s incredible beginnings of his ufc run in which he won knockout of the night, submission of the night, and fight of the night in just three fights
2013 Topps UFC Finest Blue Refractor #34 Jim Miller /188
UFC 155: Jim Miller vs Joe Lauzon I
Fight info
• Both fighters were considered challenging but gate-keeping fringe top ten fighters for most of their careers, but this battle turned them into legends
• one of the few fight of the year winners not yet inducted into the UFC hall of fame fight wing
Card info
• 100 card base set
• four refractor parallels – Blue Refractors (1/188), Gold Refractors (1/88), Black Octa-Fractors (1/8) and SuperFractors (1/1)
card back
• A recap of millers up and down (then way up again) 2012, in which he submitted melvin guillard, lost via submission to nate diaz, then won this fight of the year against joe lauzon by decision
