Petr Yan
Rookie Card

Which card is the rookie, how to tell it, and what gets mistaken for it.

The answer2019 Topps Chrome UFC #79
SubjectPetr Yan
Year2019
ManufacturerTopps
ConfidenceVerified
Print runUnknown — not estimated

Verified×2Uncertain×1View sources & research

Why this is the rookie

Two independent sources state the designation: Cardboard Connection's set guide says first-year fighters in 2019 Topps UFC Chrome carry the RC logo, and collectibles.com lists the card as '2019 Topps UFC Chrome #79 RC'. MMA Rookies names it his True Rookie Card and lists no other rookie. Nothing earlier exists — the 2018 and 2019 Topps UFC Knockout checklists have no Yan entry at all — so the pick moves up from high to verified.

Yan's only rookie card and his first card of any kind, from a 100-card set released 11 September 2019 — more than a year after his UFC debut, because Topps left him out of both the 2018 and 2019 Knockout checklists. The refractor rainbow is where the money and the hunting is: Green /99, Blue Wave /75, Gold /50, Orange /25, Black /10, Red /5 and a SuperFractor 1/1.

Commonly misidentified

The Chrome base is #79 and the 2021 Panini Prizm UFC base is also #79, and 2020 Topps UFC uses #79 for him as well. Listings that give only 'Petr Yan #79' without the year and brand are ambiguous between three different cards, only one of which is the rookie.

Identifying it

Card #79, listed as 'Petr Yan - Bantamweight' on the checklist
RC logo on the front; base version is plain chrome with no refractor rainbow
Card number on the back; 100-card base set, so #79 sits in the last quarter
Do not confuse with 2020 Topps UFC #79 or 2021 Panini Prizm UFC #79, which are different cards of the same fighter at the same number

What gets mistaken for it

What you'll read	What's true
SportsCardsPro says this is not a rookie card, so it isn't one.	That is an empty data field on the price guide, not a designation. Cardboard Connection states first-year fighters in 2019 Topps UFC Chrome carry the RC logo, collectibles.com records the card as '#79 RC', and MMA Rookies names it his True Rookie Card.
A 'Petr Yan #79' listing is this card.	Topps reused #79 for him in 2020 Topps UFC and Panini used it again in 2021 Prizm UFC. Check the brand and the design, not just the number.

Parallels

Base

—

Unnumbered

SuperFractor

1/1

High confidence

Printing Plate

1/1

High confidence

Red Refractor

High confidence

Black Refractor

/10

High confidence

+6 more

…

down to /99 · 2 unnumbered

Card milestones

Five separate questions, kept separate. How these are defined.

Earliest licensed card2019 Topps Chrome UFC #79 Verified
First MMA card2019 Topps Chrome UFC #79 Verified
First UFC card2019 Topps Chrome UFC #79 Verified
First certified autograph2021 Panini Prizm UFC #15 High confidence
Recognized rookie card2019 Topps Chrome UFC #79 Verified

The evidence behind each

2019Earliest licensed card — Cardboard Connection's 2019 Topps UFC Chrome guide dates the product to 11 September 2019 and lists Yan in the base checklist at #79; collectibles.com's Petr Yan register names '2019 Topps UFC Chrome #79 RC' as his earliest card. The 2018 and 2019 Topps UFC Knockout checklists contain no Yan despite his June 2018 UFC debut.
2019First MMA card — No card of Yan from his ACB career or from any non-MMA category appears in any checklist or database consulted, so his first MMA card is also his first card.
2019First UFC card — Cardboard Connection's base checklist for the 11 September 2019 product lists him at #79; collectibles.com records the same card.
2021First certified autograph — Checklist Center's 2021 Panini Prizm UFC checklist places Yan in the Signatures set at #15. Topps put him on four products without ever signing him: Cardboard Connection's checklists show no Yan in the autograph subsets of 2019 Topps UFC Chrome, 2019 Topps UFC Museum Collection, 2020 Topps UFC Knockout, 2020 Topps UFC or the autograph-only 2020 Topps UFC Striking Signatures.
2019Recognized rookie card — Cardboard Connection states that in 2019 Topps UFC Chrome 'cards for the first-year fighters display the RC logo' and lists Yan at #79; collectibles.com independently records the card as '2019 Topps UFC Chrome #79 RC'; MMA Rookies calls it his True Rookie Card and records no others.

Grading & population

Population figures will be taken directly from the grading companies and dated when they are. None are shown yet.

Sources & research Verified×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.

Verified

Petr Yan's rookie card: 2019 Topps Chrome UFC #79 — Petr Yan.

Two independent sources state the designation: Cardboard Connection's set article says that in 2019 Topps Chrome UFC 'cards for the first-year fighters display the RC logo' and lists Yan at #79, and Collectibles.com records the card as '#79 RC'. MMA Rookies names it his True Rookie Card and records 'Other Rookies: None', and eBay's catalogue entry is titled '2019 Topps Chrome UFC - Petr Yan #79 Gold Refractor /50 (RC)'. Nothing earlier exists: Cardboard Connection's checklists for 2018 Topps UFC Knockout (released 20 July 2018) and 2019 Topps UFC Knockout (8 May 2019) contain no Petr Yan entry in any subset, despite his UFC debut in June 2018.