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Working pick#90
Rookie research

Lyoto Machida
Rookie Card Case

The candidates, the evidence for each, and which card FightCardboard treats as the working pick.

  • Working pick2009 Topps UFC Round 2 #90
  • SubjectLyoto Machida
  • Year2009
  • ManufacturerTopps
  • ConfidenceHigh confidence
  • Print runUnknown — not estimated
High confidence×2Uncertain×1View sources & research

Why this is the working pick

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.

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.

The dispute

SportsCardsPro's data field says 'Is Rookie Card: No' on #90, contradicting eBay's catalogue and Collectibles.com. A minority of sellers treat Round 1 #59 or Victorious Debuts #VD5 as the rookie on the grounds that they came first.

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 readWhat'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

Base
—
Unnumbered
Gold
—
Probable
Onyx
/188
Probable
Ruby
/8
Probable
Diamond
1/1
Probable

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.

High confidence

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.

High confidence

2009 Topps UFC Round 2 #90 — Lyoto Machida.

Uncertain

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.

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