Khabib's 2012 Bloodlines Rookie and Every Parallel

Most fighters' rookie pages have to argue. Khabib Nurmagomedov's doesn't. He has one 2012 card, every source we checked names it as the rookie, and TCDB lists nothing of his before it. The harder question is what sits above the base card, because the parallels have more than one name and at least one version no checklist we found describes.

The base card

2012 Topps UFC Bloodlines is a 150-card set (TCDB and Cardboard Connection) sold in boxes of 10 packs with five cards each, and Cardboard Connection lists ten hits per box. Khabib is #12. The front carries a UFC Debut stamp and the nameplate reads Lightweight, Khabib Nurmagomedov, Russia. Card Review Club says the photo is from his debut against Kamal Shalorus.

The back makes the timing plain. It describes a 16-0 fighter who "entered the Octagon for his UFC debut in January with little fanfare", submitted Shalorus in the third round, then beat Gleison Tibau at UFC 148. That is as far as his UFC career had gone when the card was printed.

The parallel ladder

Here is each version of #12, with who confirms it. Nothing below is estimated; where only editorial checklists support a rung, we say so.

• Country Flag /188. TCDB calls it Country Flag and flags it SN188. Cardboard Connection and Card Review Club call it Flag /188. Sports Card Specialist describes a "Russian flag version (only 188 printed)". Same card, three names.
• Black /88. TCDB flags it SN88, and Cardboard Connection and Card Review Club both list it. A PSA 8 copy on eBay was titled "Black Rookie Card RC /88".
• Red /8. Listed by Cardboard Connection and Card Review Club. We did not find a TCDB entry for Khabib's Red in our checks.
• Platinum 1/1. Listed by Cardboard Connection and Card Review Club, and Sports Card Specialist mentions "a 1/1 platinum card".
• Printing plates, 1/1 each. Cardboard Connection lists Printing Plates #/1 for the set. Card Review Club breaks them out for #12 as Black, Cyan, Magenta and Yellow, so four separate one-of-ones.

Five rungs above the base, and the only ones TCDB confirms for Khabib are the Flag and the Black.

The Independence Edition question

SportsCardsPro has a page for a Khabib #12 "Independence Edition", and eBay listings use the same label for other 2012 Bloodlines fighters. None of the checklists we opened (Cardboard Connection, Card Review Club, TCDB's set page) describes it, and SportsCardsPro's own page has no notes. We record it as a probable version whose finish, numbering and distribution are not documented. If you have one, the back is the evidence we need.

Are the parallels rookies too?

A parallel of a rookie card is the same card in a different finish, so collectors reasonably call a Black /88 a rookie. TCDB handles it differently on paper: the base #12 carries its RC flag, while its Country Flag and Black entries for #12 do not. That's a database convention, not a ruling that the parallels are something else. FightCardboard treats every version above as a parallel of the rookie, with the base card as the reference point on the rookie guide.

Checking a copy

• The back reads 12. Base cards are unnumbered, so any serial number means a parallel.
• A /188 is the Flag, whatever the listing calls it. A /88 is the Black. Read the serial rather than trusting the colour in a photo.
• 2013 Finest UFC #22 is sometimes sold as the rookie. It is a second-year card with no RC flag.
• 2014 Topps UFC Knockout #KA-KN (/149) is his first certified autograph, not his first card.

What is still unknown

The print run of the unnumbered base card is unknown. The Red /8 and Platinum 1/1 are supported by editorial checklists rather than by a TCDB entry or a copy we have seen. Whether any of the four plates, the Red or the Platinum has surfaced publicly, we can't yet say. And the Independence Edition remains undescribed.

Sources

• Trading Card Database2012 Topps UFC Bloodlines #12 Khabib Nurmagomedov
• Trading Card Database2012 Topps UFC Bloodlines - Country Flag #12 Khabib Nurmagomedov
• Trading Card Database2012 Topps UFC Bloodlines - Black #12 Khabib Nurmagomedov
• Trading Card Database2012 Topps UFC Bloodlines set
• Cardboard Connection2012 Topps UFC Bloodlines Set Checklist, Info, Boxes, Reviews and More
• Card Review ClubThe Best Khabib Nurmagomedov Cards
• Sports Card SpecialistThe Best Khabib Nurmagomedov Cards (Rookies And More)
• SportsCardsProKhabib Nurmagomedov [Independence Edition] #12, 2012 Topps UFC Bloodlines
• eBayKhabib Nurmagomedov 2012 Topps UFC Bloodlines #12 Black Rookie Card RC /88 PSA 8