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True rookie
2011 Topps UFC Moment of Truth #97 Daniel Cormier — front
#97
Rookie card guide

Daniel Cormier
Rookie Card

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

  • The answer2011 Topps UFC Moment of Truth #97
  • SubjectDaniel Cormier
  • Year2011
  • ManufacturerTopps
  • ConfidenceVerified
  • Print runUnknown — not estimated
Verified×2View sources & research

Why this is the rookie

TCDB flags 2011 Topps UFC Moment of Truth #97 as Cormier's RC, and it is the earliest card in his TCDB profile (TCDB's year filter starts at 2011). Cardboard Connection confirms #97 in the 220-card base set, describes Moment of Truth as the first UFC set with Strikeforce fighters, and marks his Certified Signatures card as a 'First Issue'. Seller titles on SportsCardsPro also call #97 his RC.

Cardboard Connection describes Moment of Truth (released November 30, 2011) as the first UFC set to include Strikeforce fighters. Cormier's #97 is a Strikeforce-branded card from his Grand Prix run, dated 17 months before his UFC debut at UFC on Fox 7, and it is the card TCDB flags as his rookie.

Commonly misidentified

SportsCardsPro's details table lists #97 as 'Is Rookie Card: No' even though sellers title it RC. The unnumbered Gold #97 parallel is sometimes sold as the base rookie. Bloodlines #14 (2012) and the CS-DCO autograph also get labelled 'RC'.

Identifying it

  • Card #97 in the 220-card base set
  • Horizontal design with a Strikeforce logo top left and 'HEAVYWEIGHT / DANIEL CORMIER' bottom right
  • Base has a grey/silver frame; the Gold parallel is unnumbered, so check the border colour
  • Onyx, Ruby and Diamond parallels are serial-numbered

What gets mistaken for it

What you'll readWhat's true
SportsCardsPro's details table says 'Is Rookie Card: No'TCDB flags #97 RC, and it is his earliest licensed card. The SportsCardsPro field is not a checklist designation.
Gold #97 sold as the base rookieThe Gold parallel is a separate, unnumbered version. Check the frame colour.

Parallels

Base
—
Unnumbered
Gold
—
High confidence
Onyx
/88 (TCDB) or /188 (Cardboard Connection)
Uncertain
Ruby
/8
High confidence
Diamond
1/1
High confidence
Independence Edition
—
Probable

Grading & population

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

Sources & research Verified×2

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.

Verified

Daniel Cormier's rookie card: 2011 Topps UFC Moment of Truth #97 — Daniel Cormier.

TCDB flags 2011 Topps UFC Moment of Truth #97 as Cormier's RC, and it is the earliest card in his TCDB profile (TCDB's year filter starts at 2011). Cardboard Connection confirms #97 in the 220-card base set, describes Moment of Truth as the first UFC set with Strikeforce fighters, and marks his Certified Signatures card as a 'First Issue'. Seller titles on SportsCardsPro also call #97 his RC.

Verified

2011 Topps UFC Moment of Truth #97 — Daniel Cormier.

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