The rookie
2025 Topps Chrome UFC #136
Van's first card of any kind, from a product released June 27, 2025 — two years after his UFC debut and six months before he took the flyweight title. The base card sits inside one of the deepest parallel ladders Topps runs, from unnumbered Refractors down to a 1/1 SuperFractor.
Key Van cards
9 cards chosen for significance, not completeness; autographs and numbered cards follow below.
Card history
Van spent two full years in the UFC without a card. He debuted on 24 June 2023, right at the tail end of Panini's licence, and no Panini-era card of him was ever issued; when Topps opened the new era with 2024 Topps Chrome UFC on 20 March 2024, he is not among the 200 names on the checklist, despite three fights that year. Anyone looking for a pre-2025 Joshua Van card is looking for something that does not exist.
It all arrives at once on 27 June 2025 with 2025 Topps Chrome UFC: base #136 carrying the RC designation, which MMA Rookies calls his True Rookie Card, and the on-card Chrome Rookie Autograph CRA-JV in the same product, so his first card and his first signature share a release date. The base sits behind one of the deepest ladders Topps runs - Speckle /250, Aqua /199, Teal Lazer /175, Blue /150, Green /99, Blue Wave /75, Gold /50, Orange /25, Black /10, OctaFractor /8, Red /5 and a SuperFractor 1/1 - while the autograph runs Refractor /199 down through Gold /50, Orange /25, Black /10, Red /5 and its own SuperFractor. SportsCardsPro's item-details field answers 'No' to rookie for #136, which contradicts the logo on the card and both checklists.
The rest of 2025 filled out the rookie-logo run fast. UFC Topps Now #20 came three days after Chrome, covering the decision over Brandon Royval at UFC 317 and sold 30 June to 3 July with the print run given as 1,640 and a Gold /50 alongside. Chrome Sapphire Edition on 25 July re-issued #136 on sapphire stock with a short, steep ladder - Green /75, Gold /50, Orange /25, Purple /10, Red /5, Padparadscha 1/1 - then Knockout UFC #11 on 24 October brought his second autograph, KA-JV, and Finest UFC on 7 November put his RC in the Uncommon tier of a 300-card base with the Finest Rookies Autograph FRA-JV. The Finest number is unsettled: one checklist gives #164, another #78.
Stopping Alexandre Pantoja in 26 seconds at UFC 323 on 6 December 2025 turned every one of those cards into a champion's rookie overnight, and the timing produced an oddity. 2025 Topps Royalty UFC is branded 2025 but did not ship until 6 February 2026, so it carries a rookie designation at #75 on a reigning titleholder. It is also his deepest hit product by some distance, with Rookie Autographs RA-JV, Rookie Relic Autographs RRA-JV, a Rookie Jumbo Relic RJR-JV and Pursuit of Greatness Signatures POG-JV.
His champion-era cards read differently from the moment you look at the numbering: 2026 Topps Chrome UFC, out 8 May 2026, moves him from #136 as a prospect to #15, with Future Stars Autographs FSA-JV his first Chrome signature since the rookie. UFC Topps Now #16 covered the fifth-round finish of Tatsuro Taira at UFC 328, sold 11 to 14 May 2026 with the print run given as 2,591, and the versions collectors actually chase there are the signed ones, issued at /10, /5 and 1/1.
Autographs
1 certified autograph in the archive.
Card eras
Van won his UFC debut on June 24, 2023 and fought three more times in 2024, but Panini's UFC run ended without issuing him a card and the 200-card 2024 Topps Chrome UFC checklist (March 20, 2024) does not include him. Collectors looking for a pre-2025 Van card are looking for something that does not exist.
2025 Topps Chrome UFC, released June 27, 2025, carries base #136 with the RC designation — MMA Rookies calls it his True Rookie Card — and the on-card Chrome Rookie Autograph CRA-JV in the same product, so his first card and first autograph arrive on the same day.
Three days after Chrome, UFC Topps Now #20 marked the unanimous-decision win over Brandon Royval at UFC 317 (June 28, 2025), sold June 30–July 3 with the print run reported as 1,640 on the Topps store page. It is his first event-driven card and carries an RC logo.
Chrome Sapphire #136 (July 25), Knockout #11 with the KA-JV autograph (October 24) and Finest #164 with the Finest Rookies Autograph FRA-JV (November 7) fill out the year. Midnight #52 and Stadium Club #15 are also RC-flagged.
Van stopped Alexandre Pantoja in 26 seconds at UFC 323 on December 6, 2025 to take the flyweight title, which turned the 2025 rookie-logo cards into champion rookies overnight.
2025 Topps Royalty UFC, out February 6, 2026, still carries his RC (#75) plus Rookie Relic Autographs. 2026 Topps Chrome UFC (May 8, 2026) moves him to #15 with a Future Stars Autograph FSA-JV, and UFC Topps Now #16 covered the UFC 328 title defence over Tatsuro Taira with autograph versions numbered /10, /5 and 1/1.
Rookie parallels
Sets
Where Van's key cards come from.
- 20252025 Topps Chrome UFC2 key cards
- 20252025 Topps Chrome Sapphire Edition UFC1 key card
- 20252025 Topps Now UFC1 key card
- 20252025 Topps Knockout UFC1 key card
- 20252025 Topps Finest UFC1 key card
- 20252025 Topps Royalty UFC1 key card
- 20262026 Topps Chrome UFC1 key card
- 20262026 UFC Topps Now1 key card
Buying & wanted
- 012025 Topps Chrome UFC Chrome Rookie Autograph #CRA-JV — the on-card first autograph, in the numbered colours (Green /99, Gold /50, Orange /25 and up)
- 022025 Topps Chrome UFC #136 RC, especially the low-numbered refractors (Gold /50, Orange /25, Black /10, Red /5)
- 032026 UFC Topps Now #16 autograph, the title-defence card issued /10, /5 and 1/1
- 042025 Topps Chrome Sapphire Edition UFC #136 and the Sapphire CRA-JV autograph parallels
Nothing from this archive in the vault right now. Selling one?
Sources & research Verified×5High confidence×8Probable×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.
Joshua Van's rookie card: 2025 Topps Chrome UFC #136 — Joshua Van.
MMA Rookies lists '2025 Topps Chrome UFC #136 Joshua Van' as his True Rookie Card and everything else it lists as other rookie cards from later 2025 products. Checklist Insider's 2025 Topps Chrome UFC checklist shows '#136 Joshua Van RC' with a June 27, 2025 release date, earlier than Chrome Sapphire (July 25), Knockout (October 24), Finest (November 7) and Royalty (February 6, 2026). Nothing earlier exists: the 2024 Topps Chrome UFC checklist (March 20, 2024) has no Van, and no Panini-era Van card turned up in searching, even though his UFC debut was June 2023.
Van spent two full years in the UFC without a card. He debuted on 24 June 2023, right at the tail end of Panini's licence, and no Panini-era card of him was ever issued; when Topps opened the new era with 2024 Topps Chrome UFC on 20 March 2024, he is not among the 200 names on the checklist, despite three fights that year. Anyone looking for a pre-2025 Joshua Van card is looking for something that does not exist.
- Checklist Insider2024 Topps Chrome UFC Checklist, accessed September 21, 2026
- MMA RookiesVan, Joshua | RC vault, accessed September 22, 2026
It all arrives at once on 27 June 2025 with 2025 Topps Chrome UFC: base #136 carrying the RC designation, which MMA Rookies calls his True Rookie Card, and the on-card Chrome Rookie Autograph CRA-JV in the same product, so his first card and his first signature share a release date. The base sits behind one of the deepest ladders Topps runs - Speckle /250, Aqua /199, Teal Lazer /175, Blue /150, Green /99, Blue Wave /75, Gold /50, Orange /25, Black /10, OctaFractor /8, Red /5 and a SuperFractor 1/1 - while the autograph runs Refractor /199 down through Gold /50, Orange /25, Black /10, Red /5 and its own SuperFractor. SportsCardsPro's item-details field answers 'No' to rookie for #136, which contradicts the logo on the card and both checklists.
The rest of 2025 filled out the rookie-logo run fast. UFC Topps Now #20 came three days after Chrome, covering the decision over Brandon Royval at UFC 317 and sold 30 June to 3 July with the print run given as 1,640 and a Gold /50 alongside. Chrome Sapphire Edition on 25 July re-issued #136 on sapphire stock with a short, steep ladder - Green /75, Gold /50, Orange /25, Purple /10, Red /5, Padparadscha 1/1 - then Knockout UFC #11 on 24 October brought his second autograph, KA-JV, and Finest UFC on 7 November put his RC in the Uncommon tier of a 300-card base with the Finest Rookies Autograph FRA-JV. The Finest number is unsettled: one checklist gives #164, another #78.
Stopping Alexandre Pantoja in 26 seconds at UFC 323 on 6 December 2025 turned every one of those cards into a champion's rookie overnight, and the timing produced an oddity. 2025 Topps Royalty UFC is branded 2025 but did not ship until 6 February 2026, so it carries a rookie designation at #75 on a reigning titleholder. It is also his deepest hit product by some distance, with Rookie Autographs RA-JV, Rookie Relic Autographs RRA-JV, a Rookie Jumbo Relic RJR-JV and Pursuit of Greatness Signatures POG-JV.
His champion-era cards read differently from the moment you look at the numbering: 2026 Topps Chrome UFC, out 8 May 2026, moves him from #136 as a prospect to #15, with Future Stars Autographs FSA-JV his first Chrome signature since the rookie. UFC Topps Now #16 covered the fifth-round finish of Tatsuro Taira at UFC 328, sold 11 to 14 May 2026 with the print run given as 2,591, and the versions collectors actually chase there are the signed ones, issued at /10, /5 and 1/1.
2025 Topps Chrome UFC #136 — Joshua Van.
2025 Topps Chrome UFC #CRA-JV — Joshua Van.
2025 Topps Chrome Sapphire Edition UFC #136 — Joshua Van.
2025 Topps Now UFC #20 — Joshua Van.
2025 Topps Knockout UFC #11 — Joshua Van.
2025 Topps Finest UFC #164 — Joshua Van.
2025 Topps Royalty UFC #75 — Joshua Van.
2026 UFC Topps Now #16 — Joshua Van.