Ronda Rousey's cardboard begins with three separate firsts, and listings mix them up all the time: her first card of any kind, her first base card, and a wrestling rookie six years later. Only one of them is her MMA rookie card.
Her MMA rookie is 2012 Topps UFC Bloodlines #150, a Strikeforce-era card. Her first autograph, and her first card overall, is 2012 Finest UFC #A-RR. Her WWE rookie is 2018 Topps WWE Women's Division #25.
First card: a Finest autograph with no base card
Before any Rousey base card existed, Topps put her signature in 2012 Finest UFC. Cardboard Connection's set page says it plainly: "There are no base cards of Ronda Rousey, but she does have her first autograph card."
2012 Finest UFC #A-RR carries a "1st AUTOGRAPH" stamp and a Strikeforce Finest logo, because she was Strikeforce's women's bantamweight champion at the time. TCDB tags it AU and nothing more, with no RC flag. The set's autograph parallels are Gold Refractor /25, Black Octa-fractor /8 and Red Refractor 1/1. It is an important card and often the first Rousey card people want, but it is an autograph insert, not a rookie card.
The rookie: Bloodlines #150
According to Cardboard Connection, the earliest Rousey base card arrived "a few months later" in 2012 Topps UFC Bloodlines. TCDB dates that set to 7 December 2012 and flags #150 RC. It is the last number in a 150-card base set. Cardboard Connection's verdict: "The de facto Ronda Rousey rookie card is her first in a base set."
The card shows the Strikeforce logo, not the UFC's. The photo is her armbar on Miesha Tate from their March 2012 title fight, and the nameplate reads WOMEN'S BANTAMWEIGHT / RONDA ROUSEY / UNITED STATES. There is no printed RC logo. The rookie status comes from TCDB's flag and the first-base-card logic.
One price guide disagrees. SportsCardsPro's rookie field for #150 says "No". We follow the RC flag and the base-set logic rather than a database field, but you should know the disagreement exists.
Her MMA rookie shows a Strikeforce logo. She made her UFC debut two and a half months after it came out.
Parallels: Country Flag /188, Red /8 and Platinum 1/1 are confirmed, along with printing plates. A Black /88 and an unnumbered Independence Edition are reported but still unconfirmed.
The Bloodlines autographs, and a number in dispute
- Fight Mat Autographed Jumbo Relic #AFM-RR, numbered /25. Don't mix it up with the unsigned Fight Mat Jumbo Relic #JFMR-RR, which is a different card numbered /88.
- Fighter Autograph #A-RR. Cardboard Connection says the autographed version has a base print run of 75 copies. TCDB lists no serial number for it. We can't tell whether 75 is a stated print run or a serial number, so we have left it as unresolved.
Neither of these is RC-flagged. They are rookie-year autographs.
2013: the UFC debut year, and a misleading DEBUT tag
Rousey made her UFC debut at UFC 157 on 23 February 2013. Her 2013 cards are the first to show her in UFC gear: Knockout #1, Bloodlines #104 and 2013 Finest #30.
Finest #30 causes trouble. Its front carries a "DEBUT" tag, so sellers call it an RC. TCDB doesn't flag it. DEBUT is not RC. Treat it as a first-UFC-year card.
The WWE rookie
In 2018 Rousey moved to WWE, and Topps' WWE cards gave her a second rookie. 2018 Topps WWE Women's Division #25 prints a ROOKIE CARD logo, and TCDB flags it RC and dates the 50-card set to 3 October 2018. Her Then Now Forever #101, also with an RC logo, followed in November. Her Topps Now WWE cards from earlier that year carry no RC flag on TCDB.
Wrestling collectors treat #25 as a rookie in its own right, and that is fair. But a listing that just says "Ronda Rousey rookie card" for #25 is leaving out the word WWE. Her MMA rookie is six years older. The full picture is in our Rousey rookie guide.
What we still don't know
The base print run for Bloodlines #150 is unknown. The 75-copy figure for the Bloodlines #A-RR autograph needs a primary source. The Black /88 and Independence Edition parallels of #150 need a card in hand. Cardboard Connection's 2012 Finest page counts 35 fighter autographs, while TCDB lists 33 cards in the autograph set. We have not reconciled the two.
If you have a 2012 Bloodlines #A-RR, the back will show whether it is serial-numbered. A scan settles the 75-copy question, and we will credit you as the source.
Sources
- Trading Card Database2012 Topps UFC Bloodlines #150 Ronda Rousey
- Trading Card Database2012 Finest UFC - Autographs #A-RR Ronda Rousey
- Trading Card Database2018 Topps WWE Women's Division #25 Ronda Rousey
- Cardboard ConnectionTop Ronda Rousey MMA Cards, Rookie Cards
- Cardboard Connection2012 Topps UFC Finest checklist
