Why this is the rookie
Round 2 #90 is the only Machida card any card database flags as a rookie: Collectibles.com records it as '#90 RC' and dates his rookie season to 2009. It is also his first solo base card in a UFC-licensed set, issued in the product that followed his title win. The card that came first chronologically, Round 1 #59, is a two-man bout card shared with Sam Hoger and carries no designation anywhere. Topps printed no rookie logo in either 2009 product, so this rests on database usage rather than on the cardboard itself.
The card the market treats as Machida's rookie. Round 2 shipped 30 September 2009, four months after he knocked out Rashad Evans at UFC 98 to take the light heavyweight title, so this is the first base card of him as champion and the one that gets slabbed as an RC. The five-tier parallel ladder — Gold, Onyx /188, Bronze /88, Ruby /8, Diamond 1/1 — makes it a rainbow project.
Identifying it
- Card #90 in a 150-card base set
- Base card unnumbered; serial numbers appear only on the Onyx, Bronze, Ruby and Diamond tiers
- Sold in the eBay catalogue as 'Lyoto Machida #90 (RC)'
What gets mistaken for it
| What you'll read | What's true |
|---|---|
| Machida's rookie is in Round 1 because Round 1 came first. | Round 1 #59 is the earlier card, but the RC designation the hobby actually uses is on Round 2 #90. |
Parallels
Card milestones
Five separate questions, kept separate. How these are defined.
- Earliest licensed card2009 Topps UFC Round 1 #59 High confidence
- First MMA card2009 Topps UFC Round 1 #59 High confidence
- First UFC card2009 Topps UFC Round 1 #59 High confidence
- First certified autograph2009 Topps UFC Round 2 Autographs #FA-LM High confidence
- Recognized rookie card2009 Topps UFC Round 2 #90 High confidence
The evidence behind each
- 2009Earliest licensed card — SportsCardsPro's card page confirms 'Lyoto Machida, Sam Hoger #59' in 2009 Topps UFC Round 1. No earlier Machida card appears in any price guide or register reached, including the 2006 Japanese PRIDE set, which he is not part of — he fought in K-1 Hero's and Japanese regional promotions rather than PRIDE.
- 2009First MMA card — Collectibles.com's Machida register records nothing before 2009 and states he 'debuted as a Rookie in 2009'.
- 2009First UFC card — SportsCardsPro's 2009 Topps UFC Round 1 set list; Topps held no UFC licence before 2009.
- 2009First certified autograph — Collectibles.com's Machida register lists '2009 Topps UFC Round 2 Autographs #FA-LM' and its Red Ink parallel among his earliest cards. The 2009 Topps UFC Round 1 product carries no Machida signature.
- 2009Recognized rookie card — Collectibles.com's register lists '2009 Topps UFC Round 2 #90 RC' and states he 'debuted as a Rookie in 2009'; eBay's catalogue title for the same card reads '(RC)'. No competing card is flagged by any database.
Grading & population
Population figures will be taken directly from the grading companies and dated when they are. None are shown yet.
Sources & research High confidence×2Uncertain×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.
Lyoto Machida's rookie card: 2009 Topps UFC Round 2 #90 — Lyoto Machida.
2009 Topps UFC Round 2 #90 is the only Machida card any reachable catalogue actually tags as a rookie. eBay's catalogue title reads '2009 Topps UFC Round 2 - Lyoto Machida #90 (RC)' and the listing's product features say 'Rookie, Base Set'; Collectibles.com's Machida register lists '2009 Topps UFC Round 2 #90 RC' as his rookie and states he 'debuted as a Rookie in 2009'. It is also his first solo base card in a UFC-licensed set and the first issued after he won the light heavyweight title at UFC 98. The competing claim is chronological rather than catalogued: Round 1 #59 is seven months earlier.
- eBay2009 Topps UFC Round 2 - Lyoto Machida #90 (RC) (listing), accessed September 22, 2026
- Collectibles.comLyoto Machida Cards: Values, Rookies, accessed September 22, 2026
- SportsCardsProLyoto Machida #90 | 2009 Topps UFC Round 2, accessed September 22, 2026
- NSListsUFC Round 2 (Topps, 2009) checklist, accessed September 21, 2026
- SportsCardsProLyoto Machida, Sam Hoger #59 | 2009 Topps UFC Round 1, accessed September 22, 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.
2009 Topps UFC Round 2 #90 — Lyoto Machida.
- NSListsUFC Round 2 (Topps, 2009) checklist, accessed September 21, 2026
- SportsCardsProLyoto Machida #90 | 2009 Topps UFC Round 2, accessed September 22, 2026
- eBay2009 Topps UFC Round 2 - Lyoto Machida #90 (RC) (listing), accessed September 22, 2026
- Collectibles.comLyoto Machida Cards: Values, Rookies, accessed September 22, 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.
SportsCardsPro's data field says 'Is Rookie Card: No' on #90 while eBay's catalogue and Collectibles.com both carry the RC tag. Cardboard Connection's Round 2 review lists Onyx /188 where nslists lists Silver /188 and adds a Bronze /88; the tier names are not consistent between sources. nslists also counts 153 base cards against Cardboard Connection's 150.
- NSListsUFC Round 2 (Topps, 2009) checklist, accessed September 21, 2026
- SportsCardsProLyoto Machida #90 | 2009 Topps UFC Round 2, accessed September 22, 2026
- eBay2009 Topps UFC Round 2 - Lyoto Machida #90 (RC) (listing), accessed September 22, 2026
- Collectibles.comLyoto Machida Cards: Values, Rookies, accessed September 22, 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.
Copies available
Nothing from the archive is currently available.
Go deeper
- The card record2009 Topps UFC Round 2 #90
- Lyoto Machida archiveKey cards and eras
- 2009 Topps UFC Round 2Set record