Collector profile

Matt Hughes

TCDB has no Hughes card before Topps took the UFC licence, so his collection starts cleanly with 2009 Round 1 #8, a debut card of his UFC 22 win over Valeri Ignatov. Round 2 #27, his first solo card, is also RC-flagged. Autographs start in 2010, and the modern legend cards (2022 Optic, 2024 Topps Chrome Hall of Fame autos) often pair him with St-Pierre and BJ Penn.

2009Rookie year

#8Rookie card

6Key cards

UFC debutSeptember 24, 1999 · UFC 22
DivisionsWelterweight
StatusRetired · UFC (as of Sept 2026)
FromHillsboro, Illinois

Rookie card

2009 Topps UFC Round 1 #8 Matt Hughes / Valeri Ignatov — front

The rookie

Rookie card

2009 Topps UFC Round 1 #8

The earliest Hughes card on TCDB: a Round 1 'UFC Debut' card of his UFC 22 win over Valeri Ignatov (24 September 1999). The action shot shows Hughes lifting Ignatov for a slam. TCDB flags the card RC, and the eBay catalogue sells it as (RC).

Commonly misidentified

Cardboard Connection's Round 2 review lists Hughes among Round 2 autograph subjects, but he isn't on TCDB's Round 2 autograph checklists, so 'Round 2 Hughes autos' should be treated with suspicion. SportsCardsPro's data field marks #8 as not a rookie, although eBay and TCDB flag it.

High confidence×1View sources & research

Rookie card guide Card record

Key Hughes cards

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

2009 Topps UFC Round 2 #27 Matt Hughes — front

2009 Topps UFC Round 2 #27 Rookie

2009 Topps UFC Round 2 #FM-MH Matt Hughes — front

2009 Topps UFC Round 2 #FM-MH Relic

2022 Donruss Optic UFC #47

Autographs

2 certified autographs in the archive.

FF-SH 2011

Matt Hughes / Georges St-Pierre

2011 Finest UFC

Photograph to come

2011Finest UFC #FF-SH Auto

2024 Topps Chrome UFC #HFA-MHU Matt Hughes — front

2024Topps Chrome UFC #HFA-MHU Auto

Card eras

2009

Topps debut year

Round 1 #8 (UFC 22 debut) and Round 2 #27 are both RC-flagged on TCDB; Round 2 also gave him Fight Mat Relic, Greats of the Game, Octagon of Honor and Bloodlines cards.

2010–2011

Autos and relics

Topps UFC, Main Event and Knockout added base cards, cage relics and serial-numbered autographs. 2011 Finest paired his signature with St-Pierre's (Finest Feuds) and Pat Miletich's (/25).

2022–2024

Legend releases

Panini used him in 2022 Donruss Optic (#47, Opti-Graphs) and Chronicles. Topps' 2024 return brought Chrome Hall of Fame, Royalty and Knockout autographs.

Rookie parallels

Base

—

Unnumbered

Gold

—

High confidence

Silver

/288

High confidence

Red

High confidence

Sets

Where Hughes's key cards come from.

20092009 Topps UFC Round 11 key card
20092009 Topps UFC Round 22 key cards
20112011 Finest UFC1 key card
20222022 Donruss Optic UFC1 key card
20242024 Topps Chrome UFC1 key card

Buying & wanted

Wanted by FightCardboard

012009 Topps UFC Round 1 #8 Matt Hughes / Valeri Ignatov, especially Silver /288
022009 Topps UFC Round 2 #27 low-numbered parallels (Ruby /8, Diamond 1/1)
032011 Finest UFC Finest Feuds Dual Autographs #FF-SH with Georges St-Pierre

Offer one

Available here

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

Research

Sets

Why 2009 Topps UFC Matters

Two products, released seven months apart, that hold the first UFC-licensed cards of almost every name from the sport's first era.

September 21, 2026

Sources & research Verified×4High confidence×1Probable×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

Matt Hughes's rookie card: 2009 Topps UFC Round 1 #8 — Matt Hughes / Valeri Ignatov.

TCDB lists no Hughes card before 2009. Round 1 #8, released 23 Feb 2009 in the first UFC-licensed Topps set, is RC-flagged on TCDB and catalogued as (RC) by eBay, and it shows his UFC debut. Round 2 #27 also carries TCDB's RC flag but came out on 30 Sep 2009. #8 is the working pick because it came first, not because any source rules out #27.