Monday, September 21, 2026 Buying & trading early MMA cards — send your list
MMA cards. History. Market.
Fightcardboard The MMA Card Archive
Home/Fighters/Anderson Silva/Rookie card
Working pick
2006 PRIDE FC #003 Anderson Silva — front
#003
Rookie card guide

Anderson Silva
Rookie Card

Which card is actually the rookie, how to tell it, and what gets mistaken for it.

  • Working pick2006 PRIDE FC #003
  • SubjectAnderson Silva
  • Year2006
  • ManufacturerDSE
  • ConfidenceHigh confidence
  • Print runUnknown — not estimated
Verified×1High confidence×1Uncertain×1View sources & research

Why this is the working pick

2006 PRIDE FC #003 is his earliest card: a solo base card in a full, officially issued MMA set, released 11 January 2006 by DSE, which ran PRIDE. TCDB flags it RC, and so do the eBay catalogue ('2006 DSE Pride FC Card Collection - Anderson Silva #003 (RC)') and Collectibles.com. 2009 Topps UFC Round 1 #46 also carries TCDB's RC flag and is his first card in a UFC-licensed product, so a collector who counts only UFC-licensed cards will take #46 instead; FightCardboard's pick follows the earliest RC-flagged solo card, which is #003.

This is Silva's first card, from what TCDB users describe as the first full MMA set ever released. It was distributed in Japan, and Cardboard Connection calls it 'extremely tough' to find and 'the Holy Grail' of his non-autographed cards.

The dispute

TCDB gives RC flags to both 2006 PRIDE FC cards (#003 and #106) and to 2009 Topps UFC Round 1 #46, and eBay product listings carry (RC) for both PRIDE #003 and Round 1 #46. Which one is 'the' rookie depends on the rule: PRIDE #003 is his first card overall, Round 1 #46 his first UFC-licensed card. FightCardboard's working pick is #003.

Commonly misidentified

Mix-ups where the answer isn't in doubt: Round 1 hits such as the #A-AS autograph and the #DM-SL Debut Mat Relic get sold as 'rookie' cards — they are first-UFC-year autographs and relics, not RC-designated cards. Round 2 #33 is his first solo UFC-licensed base card but came out after Round 1 and carries no TCDB RC flag. NSLists files AUG-TS under his name, but that card is Thiago Silva.

2006 PRIDE FC #003 Anderson Silva — front
Front
2006 PRIDE FC #003 Anderson Silva — back
Back
Front and back. Click either side to enlarge.

Identifying it

  • Card number printed as 003 (three digits) in the 140-card 2006 PRIDE FC set.
  • Released January 11, 2006 by DSE (PRIDE's parent company).
  • Solo card of Anderson Silva with Japanese-language text.
  • eBay also lists it as '2006 DSE Pride FC Card Collection'.

What gets mistaken for it

What you'll readWhat's true
2009 Topps UFC Round 1 #46 Anderson Silva / Chris Leben is the rookie.Not a mislabel so much as a different rule: it is his first UFC-licensed and first Topps card, and TCDB also flags it RC, so collectors who count only UFC-licensed cards take it as the rookie. FightCardboard's working pick is PRIDE #003, which came three years earlier.
2006 PRIDE FC #106 Ryo Chonan / Anderson Silva is the rookie.It is from the same set and release, and TCDB also flags it RC, so neither card is earlier. FightCardboard follows the eBay catalogue and Collectibles.com, which list the solo #003 as (RC).
2009 Topps UFC Round 2 #33 is the rookie.It is his first solo UFC-licensed base card, but it was released after Round 1, and TCDB does not flag it RC.

Grading & population

Population figures will be taken directly from the grading companies and dated when they are. None are shown yet.

Sources & research Verified×1High confidence×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.

High confidence

Anderson Silva's rookie card: 2006 PRIDE FC #003 — Anderson Silva.

2006 PRIDE FC #003 is his earliest card: a solo base card in a full, officially issued MMA set, released 11 January 2006 by DSE, which ran PRIDE. TCDB flags it RC, and so do the eBay catalogue ('2006 DSE Pride FC Card Collection - Anderson Silva #003 (RC)') and Collectibles.com. 2009 Topps UFC Round 1 #46 also carries TCDB's RC flag and is his first card in a UFC-licensed product, so a collector who counts only UFC-licensed cards will take #46 instead; FightCardboard's pick follows the earliest RC-flagged solo card, which is #003. DISPUTE: TCDB gives RC flags to both 2006 PRIDE FC cards (#003 and #106) and to 2009 Topps UFC Round 1 #46, and eBay product listings carry (RC) for both PRIDE #003 and Round 1 #46. Which one is 'the' rookie depends on the rule: PRIDE #003 is his first card overall, Round 1 #46 his first UFC-licensed card. FightCardboard's working pick is #003.

Verified

2006 PRIDE FC #003 — Anderson Silva.

Uncertain

Disputed detail on 2006 PRIDE FC #003.

TCDB also flags 2009 Topps UFC Round 1 #46 RC, and collectors who count only UFC-licensed cards take #46 as the rookie instead (see the rookie guide).

Go deeper