Collector profile “The Highlight”

Justin Gaethje

Gaethje had no cards until 2018. He was WSOF champion before the UFC, but TCDB lists nothing earlier, so his first year produced three Topps RC-logo cards at once: Knockout #3 in July, Chrome #71 in September and Museum Collection #23 in November. Autographs came much later. The first certified auto we found is 2021 Panini Prizm Signatures. As of September 2026 he is the UFC lightweight champion: he beat Ilia Topuria at UFC Freedom 250 on June 14, 2026 (UFC.com).

2018Rookie year

#71Rookie card

8Key cards

UFC debutJuly 7, 2017 · The Ultimate Fighter: Redemption Finale
DivisionsLightweight
StatusActive · UFC (as of Sept 2026)
FromSafford, Arizona, U.S.

Rookie card

2018 Topps Chrome UFC #71 Justin Gaethje — front

#71

The rookie

#71

Rookie card

2018 Topps Chrome UFC #71

Gaethje's rookie card in Topps' chromium flagship, released September 19, 2018 (Cardboard Connection), a year after his UFC debut. The horizontal design shows him landing a right hand on Michael Johnson, the opponent from his UFC debut. The Refractor rainbow runs from Green /99 down to a 1/1 SuperFractor.

Commonly misidentified

Rookie-year hits such as the MMR-JG relic get listed as 'RC'. Some SportsCardsPro catalogue fields mark #71 as not a rookie even though the card carries the RC logo.

High confidence×1View sources & research

Rookie card guide Card record

Key Gaethje cards

8 cards chosen for significance, not completeness; autographs and numbered cards follow below.

2018 Topps UFC Knockout #3 Justin Gaethje — front

2018 Topps UFC Knockout #3 Rookie

2018 Topps UFC Museum Collection #23 Justin Gaethje — front

2018 Topps UFC Museum Collection #23 Rookie

2021 Panini Prizm UFC #141

2024 Topps Chrome UFC #104

Autographs

2 certified autographs in the archive.

2021 Panini Prizm UFC #SG-JGT Justin Gaethje — front

2021Panini Prizm UFC #SG-JGT Auto

2021 Panini Immaculate Collection UFC #DA-KJG Justin Gaethje / Khabib Nurmagomedov — front

2021Panini Immaculate Collection UFC #DA-KJG Auto/25

Numbered & parallels

Serial-numbered cards and parallels with their own record.

MMR-JG 2018

Justin Gaethje

2018 Topps UFC Museum Collection

Photograph to come

2018Topps UFC Museum Collection #MMR-JG Relic/75

Card eras

2018

Topps rookie year

Three RC-logo base cards (Knockout #3, Chrome #71, Museum #23) plus a Museum Meaningful Moments relic /75. None of the 2018 checklists list a Gaethje autograph.

2019–2020

Topps veteran base

Base cards only in 2019 Chrome (#62), Knockout (#76) and Museum (#45) and in 2020 Topps UFC (#35) and Knockout (#80), per Cardboard Connection's checklists.

2021–2023

Panini era and first autos

Prizm #141, Prizm Signatures SG-JGT, Chronicles Flux Autos and Immaculate autos, including a Khabib dual /25.

2024–

Topps returns

2024 Topps Chrome UFC #104 with a Main Event Autographs card (MEA-JGA).

Rookie parallels

Base

—

Unnumbered

Refractor

—

Verified

X-Fractor

—

High confidence

Diamond

—

High confidence

Green

/99

Verified

Blue Wave

/75

Verified

Sets

Where Gaethje's key cards come from.

20182018 Topps Chrome UFC1 key card
20182018 Topps UFC Knockout1 key card
20182018 Topps UFC Museum Collection2 key cards
20212021 Panini Prizm UFC2 key cards
20212021 Panini Immaculate Collection UFC1 key card
20242024 Topps Chrome UFC1 key card

Buying & wanted

Wanted by FightCardboard

012018 Topps Chrome UFC #71 RC in low-numbered Refractor colours (Orange /25, Black /10, Red /5, SuperFractor 1/1)
022018 Topps UFC Knockout #3 RC Red /8 or Gold 1/1
032021 Panini Immaculate Dual Autographs DA-KJG with Khabib Nurmagomedov /25
042018 Topps UFC Museum Collection Meaningful Moments Relic MMR-JG Gold /10 or Emerald 1/1

Offer one

Available here

Nothing from this archive in the vault right now. Selling one?

Research

Sets

Topps Chrome UFC: 2017–2019 and the 2024 Return

Three chromium sets, then Panini took the UFC licence, then Topps came back. The run year by year, with the rookies and autographs worth knowing.

September 21, 2026

Topps Chrome UFC: 2017–2019 and the 2024 Return

Sources & research Verified×7High confidence×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.

High confidence

Justin Gaethje's rookie card: 2018 Topps Chrome UFC #71 — Justin Gaethje.

TCDB lists no Gaethje cards before 2018. Three 2018 Topps cards carry the RC logo: Knockout #3, Chrome #71 and Museum Collection #23. TCDB flags all three RC, and the scans show the logo. We lead with Chrome #71 because it is the chromium flagship with the full Refractor rainbow (Cardboard Connection, TCDB, Sports Card Investor). Knockout #3 came out first (July 20, 2018 vs September 19, 2018, per Cardboard Connection) and is an equally valid RC. Collectors choosing between them are picking a preference, not settling a dispute.