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Working pick
2009 Topps UFC Round 1 #17 Georges St-Pierre / Karo Parisyan — front
#17
Rookie card guide

Georges St-Pierre
Rookie Card

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

  • Working pick2009 Topps UFC Round 1 #17
  • SubjectGeorges St-Pierre / Karo Parisyan
  • Year2009
  • ManufacturerTopps
  • ConfidenceHigh confidence
  • Print runUnknown — not estimated
Verified×1High confidence×1Uncertain×1View sources & research

Why this is the working pick

2009 Topps UFC Round 1 #17 is his first card in the first UFC-licensed Topps product (released 23 February 2009) and shows his UFC debut against Karo Parisyan. TCDB flags it RC, eBay's catalogue lists it as (RC), graded copies are sold as 'Rookie Card', and Cardboard Connection calls it 'the closest collectors will find to a Georges St-Pierre rookie card'. The earlier 2008 Donruss Americana II Ring Kings card is an unlicensed, serial-numbered insert in a pop-culture product rather than a base card in an MMA set, and TCDB does not flag it RC, so FightCardboard does not take it as the rookie (Sports Card Expert does — see the dispute). Round 2 #100 also carries a TCDB RC flag but came out later in 2009 (30 September), so #17 is the earlier of his two RC-flagged cards.

This is his card from the first Topps UFC product, and Cardboard Connection, TCDB and the eBay catalogue treat it as his rookie. It shows his 2004 UFC debut win over Karo Parisyan, so the rookie also marks where his UFC career began. The Silver /288 and the rarer parallels are the high-end targets.

The dispute

The sources disagree. Sports Card Expert calls the 2008 Donruss Americana II Ring Kings #RK-GS /500 his 'definitive' rookie and #17 only 'somewhat of a rookie card'. TCDB puts RC flags on both 2009 Topps UFC Round 1 #17 and Round 2 #100. Cardboard Connection, the eBay catalogue and the grading-market listings treat Round 1 #17 as the rookie.

Commonly misidentified

Mix-ups where the answer isn't in doubt: the 2009 Topps UFC Round 1 autograph #A-GSP and the Donruss Ring Kings Signature autographs get sold as 'rookie autos' — they are rookie-year and earliest signatures, not RC-designated cards. Round 2 #100 turns up as 'the rookie' because TCDB flags it RC too, but it came out seven months after Round 1 #17; Cardboard Connection files Round 2 under plain '2009 Topps UFC', which makes Round 1/Round 2 confusion easy. The 2009 eTopps #2 (/999) was sold online, not in packs, and no source in the record calls it a rookie.

Identifying it

  • Card #17 of the 100-card 2009 Topps UFC Round 1 base set (TCDB count).
  • Dual-subject card: Georges St-Pierre / Karo Parisyan.
  • Released February 23, 2009 (TCDB).
  • Don't confuse it with the Round 1 Top 10 Fights insert or Round 2 #100, which is a solo card.

What gets mistaken for it

What you'll readWhat's true
2008 Donruss Americana II Ring Kings #RK-GS (/500) is the rookie.This is the genuine minority view rather than a mislabel: Sports Card Expert calls it his 'definitive' rookie. It is his earliest pack-issued card, but it is a serial-numbered insert in a non-UFC-licensed entertainment product, TCDB does not flag it RC, and Cardboard Connection calls it his 'first pack-inserted' card rather than his rookie.
2009 Topps UFC Round 2 #100 is the rookie.TCDB also flags it RC, and it is his first solo UFC base card. It was released about seven months after Round 1 #17, which already carries TCDB's RC flag. TCDB's flagging looks inconsistent: Anderson Silva's Round 2 #33 has no flag.
2009 eTopps #2 (/999) is the rookie.This is a 2009 online-distributed eTopps card, not pack-issued, and no source in this record treats it as a rookie.

Parallels

Base
—
Unnumbered
Gold
—
High confidence
Silver
/288
High confidence
Black
/888
Probable
Red
1/1
Probable
UFC 94 Exclusive
—
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×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

Georges St-Pierre's rookie card: 2009 Topps UFC Round 1 #17 — Georges St-Pierre / Karo Parisyan.

2009 Topps UFC Round 1 #17 is his first card in the first UFC-licensed Topps product (released 23 February 2009) and shows his UFC debut against Karo Parisyan. TCDB flags it RC, eBay's catalogue lists it as (RC), graded copies are sold as 'Rookie Card', and Cardboard Connection calls it 'the closest collectors will find to a Georges St-Pierre rookie card'. The earlier 2008 Donruss Americana II Ring Kings card is an unlicensed, serial-numbered insert in a pop-culture product rather than a base card in an MMA set, and TCDB does not flag it RC, so FightCardboard does not take it as the rookie (Sports Card Expert does — see the dispute). Round 2 #100 also carries a TCDB RC flag but came out later in 2009 (30 September), so #17 is the earlier of his two RC-flagged cards. DISPUTE: The sources disagree. Sports Card Expert calls the 2008 Donruss Americana II Ring Kings #RK-GS /500 his 'definitive' rookie and #17 only 'somewhat of a rookie card'. TCDB puts RC flags on both 2009 Topps UFC Round 1 #17 and Round 2 #100. Cardboard Connection, the eBay catalogue and the grading-market listings treat Round 1 #17 as the rookie.

Verified

2009 Topps UFC Round 1 #17 — Georges St-Pierre / Karo Parisyan.

Uncertain

Disputed detail on 2009 Topps UFC Round 1 #17.

Rookie status is disputed: Sports Card Expert names the 2008 Donruss Ring Kings #RK-GS as his rookie instead (see the rookie guide). Silver /288 is confirmed by TCDB and NSLists. Black /888 and Red 1/1 come only from NSLists. The 'UFC 94 Exclusive' version appears on SportsCardsPro and in eBay listings, but no checklist describes it.

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