Why this card matters
The earliest Filipović card anyone offers, and the only one that predates his MMA career: a Japanese Bandai carddass card from the 1997 K-1 Grand Prix series, printed under his early kickboxing name 'Mirko Tigar'. It is his first solo card, four years before he fought Kazuyuki Fujita in August 2001, and copies surface almost exclusively out of Japan.
Identification
Missing a front scan. Contribute one.
- Card #73 in the 1997 Bandai K-1 Grand Prix series
- Named 'Mirko Tigar' on the card, not Cro Cop or Filipović — the usual reason collectors miss it
- Japanese-language Bandai carddass format; the same series carries dual cards at #121 (with Jerome Le Banner) and #127 (with Ernesto Hoost)
- A PSA 6 example exists, cert 67784726 per the listing
| Cro Cop's first card is a PRIDE or UFC card. | His first cards are 1997 Bandai K-1 Grand Prix kickboxing cards issued under the name Mirko Tigar, nine years before the 2006 DSE Pride set and thirteen before any Topps UFC card. |
Disputed
The set and the Tigar/Cro Cop identity are corroborated by several listings, but card #73 specifically was seen in only one listing (the PSA 6). No checklist source for the 1997 Bandai set was reachable — TCDB could not be reached and no card-guide site covers Japanese carddass.
Parallels
No parallels recorded for this card.
Population & market
Population. Population figures will be taken directly from the grading companies and dated when they are. None are shown yet.
FightCardboard doesn't republish other sites' price data, and won't label an asking price as a value. What appears here instead: sales we made or watched happen, and public auction results — each tagged with its source.
eBay — Mirko Tigar (Crocopp) 1997 BANDAI #73 PSA6 K1 Rookie Card
eBay — Mirko Tiger rookie card K-1 1997 cro cop MMA
Available copies
None in the vault right now.
More Mirko Filipović
Sources & research Probable×1Uncertain×1
Every factual claim on this page, the evidence behind it, and an honest confidence level. Where sources disagree the disagreement is kept, not quietly resolved.
1997 Bandai K-1 Grand Prix #73 — Mirko Filipović.
The set and the Tigar/Cro Cop identity are corroborated by several listings, but card #73 specifically was seen in only one listing (the PSA 6). No checklist source for the 1997 Bandai set was reachable — TCDB could not be reached and no card-guide site covers Japanese carddass.