Why this is the rookie
TCDB flags 2009 Topps UFC Round 2 #101 (Jon Jones / Andre Gusmao) as his only RC, and Cardboard Connection, Topps Ripped, Card Review Club, Sports Card Investor and Card Ladder all treat it as his rookie card. It was issued in 2009 and pictures his UFC debut (UFC 87, August 2008).
It is the rookie of the fighter many consider the best in the sport's history — and it was never meant to be a star card. Topps used the 101–141 bout run to cover fights involving people who had not earned a portrait. Jones was 21, two fights into his UFC career, and got a shared frame with a debut opponent who never won in the UFC.
Some sites and sellers file the rookie under '2009 Topps UFC Round 1' — it is Round 2 #101, and Round 1 has no Jones card. The same-product #FA-JJ autograph is regularly sold as an 'RC auto'; it carries no RC flag. Card Review Club calls that autograph '2009 Topps UFC Knockout' (Knockout did not exist until 2010), and Topps Ripped misnumbers it '#FF-JJ'.
Identifying it
- Card number 101, printed top right on the back.
- Both names appear on the card: “Jon Jones vs Andre Gusmao” on the front, both fighters' bios on the back. There is no solo Jones base card in 2009 Topps.
- The front carries a “UFC Debut” stamp and reads “UFC 87: Seek and Destroy 08.9.08”.
- The back lists Jones at 8-0-0 and Gusmao at 5-1-0 — their records going into the bout.
- The set is Round 2, not Round 1. Round 1 stops at 102 cards and has no Jones.
What gets mistaken for it
| What you'll read | What's true |
|---|---|
| The Jones rookie is in 2009 Topps UFC Round 1. | Round 1 is a 100-card set with no Jon Jones card at all. This error appears on at least one widely cited card site. |
| The 2009 autograph #FA-JJ is his rookie. | It's his first certified autograph, from the same Round 2 product, and it is often listed as an “RC auto”. It is an insert and carries no RC flag. #101 is the rookie; #FA-JJ is the key autograph. |
| There is a solo Jon Jones 2009 Topps base card. | There is not. Jones had no portrait in the 1–100 run. His only 2009 base appearance is bout card 101. |
| A 2010 or 2011 Topps Jones is his rookie. | Those are later-issue cards. Some are showier, but none is the rookie. |
Parallels
Grading & population
Population figures will be taken directly from the grading companies and dated when they are. None are shown yet.
Sources & research Verified×7High confidence×2Uncertain×1Unconfirmed×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.
Jon Jones's rookie card: 2009 Topps UFC Round 2 #101 — Jon Jones / Andre Gusmao.
TCDB flags 2009 Topps UFC Round 2 #101 (Jon Jones / Andre Gusmao) as his only RC, and Cardboard Connection, Topps Ripped, Card Review Club, Sports Card Investor and Card Ladder all treat it as his rookie card. It was issued in 2009 and pictures his UFC debut (UFC 87, August 2008). No source disputes which card is the rookie; the problems are mislabels. Some sites and sellers file it under '2009 Topps UFC Round 1' (wrong — it is Round 2 #101), and Card Review Club mislabels the rookie-year autograph as '2009 Topps UFC Knockout'.
- Card Ladder2009 Topps UFC Round 2 Jon Jones vs Andre Gusmao Base #101 PSA 9, accessed September 20, 2026 Third independent confirmation of the card identity. Price data not reproduced here.
- Sports Card InvestorJon Jones 2009 Topps UFC Round 2 #101 Base, accessed September 20, 2026 Independent confirmation of set, year and card number for the Jones rookie.
- SportsCardsProJon Jones, Andre Gusmao #101 — 2009 Topps UFC Round 2, accessed September 20, 2026 Card identity and parallel names (Gold, Ruby) corroborated. Their price data is licensed for internal use only and is NOT republished on this site — link out only.
- Trading Card Database2009 Topps UFC Round 2 — MMA Checklist, accessed September 20, 2026 Volunteer-maintained. Complete base checklist with card numbers and RC flags. Crawl-permitted per tcdb.com/robots.txt.
- MMA DecisionsJon Jones def. André Gusmão — UFC 87, accessed September 20, 2026 Bout record underlying the card's subject matter.
2009 Topps UFC Round 2 #101 — Jon Jones / Andre Gusmao.
- Trading Card Database2009 Topps UFC Round 2 #101 Jon Jones / Andre Gusmao, accessed September 21, 2026
- Cardboard Connection2009 Topps UFC Round 2 Review, accessed September 20, 2026 Source for parallel structure, insert sets and box configuration. Internally inconsistent on Onyx serial numbering (base /188 vs insert /88) — see claim-r2-onyx.
- Cardboard Connection10 Count: Top Jon 'Bones' Jones Cards, accessed September 20, 2026 Useful survey of key Jones cards, but it credits the #101 rookie to '2009 Topps UFC' without the Round, and some serial numbering here is single-sourced. Used as a lead, not as proof.
- Card Review ClubThe Best Jon Jones Cards: Guide, RCs, & Advice, accessed September 21, 2026
- Topps RippedJon Jones' Cards To Collect, accessed September 21, 2026
- Sports Card InvestorJon Jones 2009 Topps UFC Round 2 #101 Base, accessed September 20, 2026 Independent confirmation of set, year and card number for the Jones rookie.
- SportsCardsProJon Jones, Andre Gusmao #101 — 2009 Topps UFC Round 2, accessed September 20, 2026 Card identity and parallel names (Gold, Ruby) corroborated. Their price data is licensed for internal use only and is NOT republished on this site — link out only.
- Card Ladder2009 Topps UFC Round 2 Jon Jones vs Andre Gusmao Base #101, accessed September 21, 2026
Jon Jones's rookie card is 2009 Topps UFC Round 2 #101 (Jon Jones / Andre Gusmao) — his only 2009 base card.
The card's own back confirms the number (101), the bout (UFC 87, 08.09.08) and the 2009 Topps copyright. Four independent references agree on the set.
- FightCardboardFront and back images of 2009 Topps UFC Round 2 #101, accessed September 20, 2026 The card itself. The back prints card number 101, the UFC 87: Seek and Destroy 08.09.08 bout, both fighters' records and a © 2009 Topps copyright line. The front carries a UFC Debut stamp. Images, not a hands-on inspection — card stock, surface and parallel treatment have not been physically examined.
- Trading Card Database2009 Topps UFC Round 2 — MMA Checklist, accessed September 20, 2026 Volunteer-maintained. Complete base checklist with card numbers and RC flags. Crawl-permitted per tcdb.com/robots.txt.
- Sports Card InvestorJon Jones 2009 Topps UFC Round 2 #101 Base, accessed September 20, 2026 Independent confirmation of set, year and card number for the Jones rookie.
- Card Ladder2009 Topps UFC Round 2 Jon Jones vs Andre Gusmao Base #101 PSA 9, accessed September 20, 2026 Third independent confirmation of the card identity. Price data not reproduced here.
- SportsCardsProJon Jones, Andre Gusmao #101 — 2009 Topps UFC Round 2, accessed September 20, 2026 Card identity and parallel names (Gold, Ruby) corroborated. Their price data is licensed for internal use only and is NOT republished on this site — link out only.
2009 Topps UFC Round 1 is a 102-card base set and contains no Jon Jones card.
The archive carries NSLists' count of 102 commons; TCDB's checklist for the same product stops at 100. Either way the set matters here because at least one widely-cited secondary source implies the Jones rookie belongs to Round 1. It does not.
- Trading Card Database2009 Topps UFC Round 1 — MMA Checklist, accessed September 20, 2026 Used to establish the negative: Round 1 is a 100-card set and contains no Jon Jones card.
Jones's first certified autograph is 2009 Topps UFC Round 2 Autographs #FA-JJ, from the same product as his rookie.
This means #101 is Jones's only 2009 base card, not his only 2009 card. An earlier version of this site said 'only 2009 card' — that was wrong and has been corrected.
- Trading Card Database2009 Topps UFC Round 2 — Autographs checklist, accessed September 20, 2026 45-card autograph set. Lists Jon Jones as FA-JJ with no RC flag.
- Cardboard Connection10 Count: Top Jon 'Bones' Jones Cards, accessed September 20, 2026 Useful survey of key Jones cards, but it credits the #101 rookie to '2009 Topps UFC' without the Round, and some serial numbering here is single-sourced. Used as a lead, not as proof.
The #FA-JJ autograph is an insert and does not carry an RC flag.
Sellers regularly list it as an 'RC auto' or 'rookie auto'. It is his first autograph; the base #101 is the rookie.
- Trading Card Database2009 Topps UFC Round 2 — Autographs checklist, accessed September 20, 2026 45-card autograph set. Lists Jon Jones as FA-JJ with no RC flag.
2009 Topps UFC Round 2 has a 150-card base set.
Cards 1-100 are single-fighter portraits, 101-141 are dual-fighter bout cards, 142-150 cover cornermen, cutmen, announcers and referees.
- Trading Card Database2009 Topps UFC Round 2 — MMA Checklist, accessed September 20, 2026 Volunteer-maintained. Complete base checklist with card numbers and RC flags. Crawl-permitted per tcdb.com/robots.txt.
- Cardboard Connection2009 Topps UFC Round 2 Review, accessed September 20, 2026 Source for parallel structure, insert sets and box configuration. Internally inconsistent on Onyx serial numbering (base /188 vs insert /88) — see claim-r2-onyx.
Jon Jones made his UFC debut on 9 August 2008 at UFC 87, defeating André Gusmão by unanimous decision.
This is the bout pictured on his rookie card.
- FightCardboardFront and back images of 2009 Topps UFC Round 2 #101, accessed September 20, 2026 The card itself. The back prints card number 101, the UFC 87: Seek and Destroy 08.09.08 bout, both fighters' records and a © 2009 Topps copyright line. The front carries a UFC Debut stamp. Images, not a hands-on inspection — card stock, surface and parallel treatment have not been physically examined.
- MMA DecisionsJon Jones def. André Gusmão — UFC 87, accessed September 20, 2026 Bout record underlying the card's subject matter.
André Gusmão never won a UFC bout (0-2).
Lost to Jones at UFC 87 and to Krzysztof Soszynski at UFC 98.
- WikipediaAndré Gusmão — fight record, accessed September 20, 2026 UFC record 0-2: lost to Jones at UFC 87, lost to Krzysztof Soszynski at UFC 98.
Print run of the unnumbered base card and the Gold parallel.
No credible figure located. Other sites publish estimates. FightCardboard does not, because an estimate repeated often enough becomes a fact.
No credible source located, so nothing is asserted.
Disputed detail on 2009 Topps UFC Round 2 #101.
Parallel structure: Cardboard Connection's set review lists Gold (unnumbered), Onyx /188, Ruby /8, Diamond 1/1, and Card Review Club and eBay listings also call the /188 parallel Onyx. TCDB instead names the /188 parallel 'Silver' and adds a 'Bronze /88' parallel that no other source mentions for 2009 (Silver /188 and Bronze /88 are the 2010 Topps UFC parallel names). This is where the old '/188 vs /88' Onyx confusion comes from. Treat Onyx as /188; the /88 'Bronze' is unconfirmed.
- Trading Card Database2009 Topps UFC Round 2 #101 Jon Jones / Andre Gusmao, accessed September 21, 2026
- Cardboard Connection2009 Topps UFC Round 2 Review, accessed September 20, 2026 Source for parallel structure, insert sets and box configuration. Internally inconsistent on Onyx serial numbering (base /188 vs insert /88) — see claim-r2-onyx.
- Cardboard Connection10 Count: Top Jon 'Bones' Jones Cards, accessed September 20, 2026 Useful survey of key Jones cards, but it credits the #101 rookie to '2009 Topps UFC' without the Round, and some serial numbering here is single-sourced. Used as a lead, not as proof.
- Card Review ClubThe Best Jon Jones Cards: Guide, RCs, & Advice, accessed September 21, 2026
- Topps RippedJon Jones' Cards To Collect, accessed September 21, 2026
- Sports Card InvestorJon Jones 2009 Topps UFC Round 2 #101 Base, accessed September 20, 2026 Independent confirmation of set, year and card number for the Jones rookie.
- SportsCardsProJon Jones, Andre Gusmao #101 — 2009 Topps UFC Round 2, accessed September 20, 2026 Card identity and parallel names (Gold, Ruby) corroborated. Their price data is licensed for internal use only and is NOT republished on this site — link out only.
- Card Ladder2009 Topps UFC Round 2 Jon Jones vs Andre Gusmao Base #101, accessed September 21, 2026
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Go deeper
- The card record2009 Topps UFC Round 2 #101
- Jon Jones archiveKey cards and eras
- 2009 Topps UFC Round 2Set record