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Collector profile “El Cucuy”

Tony Ferguson

Ferguson is a clean TUF-winner rookie: he knocked Ramsey Nijem out to win The Ultimate Fighter 13 on 4 June 2011, and Topps put him in the very next big UFC product, 2011 Topps UFC Moment of Truth, at base #16 on 30 November 2011. Nothing earlier exists — he is absent from the two 2011 Topps products that shipped before his Octagon debut, Title Shot (4 May) and Finest UFC — so the rookie question here is not which card is first but whether anyone flags it: Topps' own Ripped article and Beckett's marketplace call #16 his rookie while SportsCardsPro's rookie field reads 'No'. The awkward part of his run is the middle: after a heavy 2012 (Knockout, Finest, Bloodlines) he drops out of Topps releases almost entirely for 2013–2014 even as the 12-fight win streak was building, which is why 2015 Topps UFC Champions #186 is the next base card worth chasing.

2011Rookie year
#16Rookie card
10Key cards
  • UFC debutJune 4, 2011 · The Ultimate Fighter 13 Finale
  • DivisionsLightweight · Welterweight
  • FromOxnard, California
Rookie card#16
01

The rookie case

#16
Rookie card · working pick Rookie disputed

2011 Topps UFC Moment of Truth #16

Ferguson's first trading card, from the 220-card Moment of Truth base set released 30 November 2011 — the first Topps UFC product issued after he won The Ultimate Fighter 13 on 4 June 2011. Neither 2011 Topps UFC Title Shot (4 May 2011) nor 2011 Finest UFC carries him, so nothing earlier exists. It is also his only rookie-year card: he is not in the product's 70-card Certified Signatures checklist, so no 2011 certified autograph of him was issued.

Where sources disagree

Whether the card carries a formal RC designation. Topps' Ripped article and Beckett's marketplace listing both label 2011 Topps UFC Moment of Truth #16 a rookie card, while SportsCardsPro's 'Is Rookie Card' field for it reads 'No' and Cardboard Connection's checklist marks no RC flags anywhere in the set. TCDB, the usual RC-flag source, could not be consulted, so the flag could not be checked there.

Commonly misidentified

A seller listing of the rookie records its number as #194; every checklist source says #16. Sellers also list the Gold, Onyx /188 and Ruby /8 versions of #16 as 'the rookie' when they are parallels of the same base card, and 2012 Finest UFC #41 is sometimes titled 'RC' because it is his first chrome card.

High confidence×1View sources & research
Rookie card case Card record
02

Key Ferguson cards

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

2012 Topps UFC Knockout #29
2012 Finest UFC #41
2012 Topps UFC Bloodlines #84
2015 Topps UFC Champions #186
2018 Topps Chrome UFC #5
2021 Panini Prizm UFC #119
03

Card history

Ferguson is that rare thing in MMA collecting, a clean TUF-winner rookie. He knocked out Ramsey Nijem to win The Ultimate Fighter 13 on 4 June 2011, and Topps put him in the very next big UFC product: the 220-card Moment of Truth, released 30 November 2011, at base #16, with Gold, Onyx /188, Ruby /8, a Diamond 1/1 and printing plates behind it. Nothing earlier exists, because the two 2011 Topps products that shipped before his Octagon debut — Title Shot on 4 May and Finest UFC — carry no Ferguson entry.

So the rookie question is not which card came first but whether anyone flags it. Topps' own writing and Beckett's marketplace both call #16 a rookie card, while SportsCardsPro's rookie field reads 'No' and Cardboard Connection's checklist marks no RC flags anywhere in the set. Two habits cause trouble in listings: the Gold, Onyx and Ruby versions of #16 get sold as 'the rookie' when they are parallels of one base card, and one listing records the number as #194, which no checklist supports. It is also his only rookie-year card — he is absent from Moment of Truth's 70-card Certified Signatures checklist, so there is no 2011 certified autograph of him at all.

2012 was the busy year: three products in nine months. Knockout on 6 April gave him base #29 with Silver /188, Green /88, Red /8 and a Mat Stock 1/1 printed on fight-mat material, plus the Notable Nicknames Autograph #NN-TF numbered to 25 — the earliest certified Ferguson signature and, being a nickname card, the 'El Cucuy' autograph collectors ask for by name. Finest followed on 28 August with his first chrome card at #41 and a ladder of Blue X-Fractor /188, Gold Refractor /88, Black Octo-Fractor /8 and Red Refractor 1/1, and Bloodlines closed the year on 7 December with base #84 — every parallel serial numbered, Flag /188 down to Platinum 1/1 — plus a Dual Relic #BDR-TF shared with Miguel Angel Torres.

Then the awkward middle. He is absent from the 2013 Topps UFC Knockout checklist and Topps issued little of him across 2013 and 2014, exactly while the twelve-fight win streak that began in October 2013 was building. 2015 Topps UFC Champions #186, released 28 October 2015, is the base card that reconnects the run, with Black /188, Blue /88, Gold /25, Red /8 and Platinum 1/1 versions. After the triangle choke on Kevin Lee at UFC 216 made him interim lightweight champion, Topps' high-end Museum Collection carried Museum Autographs #MA-TF — numbered /99 or less with a Copper /25, Gold /10 and Emerald 1/1 above it — alongside Signature Swatch single, dual and triple versions.

The peak of his run is 2018 and 2019. Topps UFC Chrome, out on 19 September 2018, put him at base #5 of 100 with a refractor ladder from Green /99 through Blue Wave /75, Gold /50, Orange /25, Black /10 and Red /5 to a SuperFractor 1/1, and repeated him across four chrome insert families — 1983 Topps, Museum Collection, Tier 1 and Knockout — each with its own autograph version. 2019 Topps UFC Knockout on 8 May is his deepest hit product: base #59 plus Knockout Autograph Relics #KAR-TF, UFC Fire Autographs #FA-TF, Autograph Jumbo Fight Mat Relics #AJM-TF and three straight relic sets, all sharing Purple /25, Red /8 and Gold 1/1 tiers. Panini's licence then landed him in 2021 Prizm UFC as horizontal base #119 with the longest colour ladder he has ever had, Silver down through Mojo /25, Gold /10, Octagon /8 and Black 1/1, plus Fearless #14, Fireworks #20 and Instant Impact #22 — issued just as the losing run that began in August 2020 took hold, which is why it is a far commoner card than his Topps peaks.

Sources for every paragraph

04

Autographs

3 certified autographs in the archive.

2012Topps UFC Knockout Notable Nicknames Autographs #NN-TF Auto/25
2017Topps UFC Museum Collection Museum Autographs #MA-TF Auto/99 or less (base version); Copper /25 or less, Gold /10 or less, Emerald 1/1
2019Topps UFC Knockout Autograph Relics #KAR-TF AutoRelic/200 or less (base version); Blue /35, Purple /25, Red /8, Gold 1/1
05

Card eras

2011
Moment of Truth — the TUF 13 rookie

Topps' 220-card Moment of Truth base set, released 30 November 2011, gave Ferguson his first card at #16, five months after he won TUF 13. The parallel ladder on it is Gold, Onyx /188, Ruby /8 and Diamond 1/1, and he is not in the product's 70-card Certified Signatures checklist, so there is no rookie-year certified autograph.

2012
The three-product year

2012 Topps UFC Knockout (6 April) gave him base #29 and, more importantly, the Notable Nicknames Autograph #NN-TF numbered /25 — the earliest certified Ferguson autograph confirmed on this research. Finest UFC followed on 28 August with base #41 on chrome stock and a full refractor ladder, and Bloodlines closed the year on 7 December with base #84 and a Bloodlines Dual Relic #BDR-TF paired with Miguel Angel Torres.

2015
The quiet streak years

Topps largely skipped him while the win streak grew: he is not in the 2013 Topps UFC Knockout checklist at all. 2015 Topps UFC Champions #186, released 28 October 2015, is the base card that reconnects the run, with Black /188, Blue /88, Gold /25, Red /8 and Platinum 1/1 parallels.

2017
Interim champion — Museum Collection

After the triangle choke on Kevin Lee at UFC 216 on 7 October 2017 made him interim lightweight champion, Topps' high-end Museum Collection carried Museum Autographs #MA-TF (base numbered /99 or less, Copper /25 or less, Gold /10 or less, Emerald 1/1) plus Signature Swatch single, dual and triple versions.

2018
Topps Chrome UFC

2018 Topps UFC Chrome, released 19 September 2018, put him at base #5 in a 100-card set with a deep refractor run down to SuperFractor 1/1, and repeated him across four chrome insert families — 1983 Topps, Museum Collection, Tier 1 and Knockout — each with its own autograph version.

2019
Knockout relics and autographs

2019 Topps UFC Knockout (8 May 2019) is his deepest hit product: base #59 plus Knockout Autograph Relics #KAR-TF, UFC Fire Autographs #FA-TF, Autograph Jumbo Fight Mat Relics #AJM-TF and three straight relic sets, all with Purple /25, Red /8 and Gold 1/1 tiers.

2021
The Panini era

When Panini took the UFC licence, Ferguson landed in 2021 Panini Prizm UFC (28 April 2021) as base horizontal #119 with the standard Prizm colour ladder, plus Fearless #14, Fireworks #20 and Instant Impact #22 inserts.

06

Rookie parallels

Base
—
Unnumbered
Gold
—
High confidence
Onyx
/188
High confidence
Ruby
/8
High confidence
Diamond
1/1
High confidence
Printing Plate
1/1
High confidence
07

Sets

Where Ferguson's key cards come from.

08

Buying & wanted

Wanted by FightCardboard
  • 012011 Topps UFC Moment of Truth #16 Ruby /8 and Diamond 1/1 — the scarce parallels of his rookie card
  • 022012 Topps UFC Knockout Notable Nicknames Autograph #NN-TF /25 — his earliest confirmed certified autograph, and an 'El Cucuy' nickname card
  • 032012 Finest UFC #41 Black Octo-Fractor /8 and Red Refractor 1/1 — the top of his first chrome card's ladder
  • 042017 Topps UFC Museum Collection Museum Autographs #MA-TF Copper /25 — an interim-title-era on-card autograph

Offer one

Available here

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

Sources & research Verified×2High confidence×12Probable×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

Tony Ferguson's rookie card: 2011 Topps UFC Moment of Truth #16 — Tony Ferguson.

2011 Topps UFC Moment of Truth #16 is both his first card and the card the market treats as his rookie. Topps' own Ripped article names '2011 Topps UFC Moment of Truth #16' as his rookie card, and Beckett's marketplace lists the card as '2011 Topps UFC Moment of Truth #16 Tony Ferguson RC'. The timing fits cleanly: he won TUF 13 on 4 June 2011 and Moment of Truth shipped 30 November 2011, the first Topps UFC product to include him. The two 2011 products that came earlier do not carry him — the 2011 Topps UFC Title Shot set list (released 4 May 2011, before his Octagon debut) and the 2011 Finest UFC set list both returned no Ferguson entry. The one dissenting data point is SportsCardsPro, whose rookie field for #16 reads 'No'; it reads 'No' for every later Ferguson card too, so it appears to be a blanket absence of rookie flags in its UFC data rather than a judgement against #16.

High confidence

Ferguson is that rare thing in MMA collecting, a clean TUF-winner rookie. He knocked out Ramsey Nijem to win The Ultimate Fighter 13 on 4 June 2011, and Topps put him in the very next big UFC product: the 220-card Moment of Truth, released 30 November 2011, at base #16, with Gold, Onyx /188, Ruby /8, a Diamond 1/1 and printing plates behind it. Nothing earlier exists, because the two 2011 Topps products that shipped before his Octagon debut — Title Shot on 4 May and Finest UFC — carry no Ferguson entry.

High confidence

So the rookie question is not which card came first but whether anyone flags it. Topps' own writing and Beckett's marketplace both call #16 a rookie card, while SportsCardsPro's rookie field reads 'No' and Cardboard Connection's checklist marks no RC flags anywhere in the set. Two habits cause trouble in listings: the Gold, Onyx and Ruby versions of #16 get sold as 'the rookie' when they are parallels of one base card, and one listing records the number as #194, which no checklist supports. It is also his only rookie-year card — he is absent from Moment of Truth's 70-card Certified Signatures checklist, so there is no 2011 certified autograph of him at all.

High confidence

2012 was the busy year: three products in nine months. Knockout on 6 April gave him base #29 with Silver /188, Green /88, Red /8 and a Mat Stock 1/1 printed on fight-mat material, plus the Notable Nicknames Autograph #NN-TF numbered to 25 — the earliest certified Ferguson signature and, being a nickname card, the 'El Cucuy' autograph collectors ask for by name. Finest followed on 28 August with his first chrome card at #41 and a ladder of Blue X-Fractor /188, Gold Refractor /88, Black Octo-Fractor /8 and Red Refractor 1/1, and Bloodlines closed the year on 7 December with base #84 — every parallel serial numbered, Flag /188 down to Platinum 1/1 — plus a Dual Relic #BDR-TF shared with Miguel Angel Torres.

High confidence

Then the awkward middle. He is absent from the 2013 Topps UFC Knockout checklist and Topps issued little of him across 2013 and 2014, exactly while the twelve-fight win streak that began in October 2013 was building. 2015 Topps UFC Champions #186, released 28 October 2015, is the base card that reconnects the run, with Black /188, Blue /88, Gold /25, Red /8 and Platinum 1/1 versions. After the triangle choke on Kevin Lee at UFC 216 made him interim lightweight champion, Topps' high-end Museum Collection carried Museum Autographs #MA-TF — numbered /99 or less with a Copper /25, Gold /10 and Emerald 1/1 above it — alongside Signature Swatch single, dual and triple versions.

High confidence

The peak of his run is 2018 and 2019. Topps UFC Chrome, out on 19 September 2018, put him at base #5 of 100 with a refractor ladder from Green /99 through Blue Wave /75, Gold /50, Orange /25, Black /10 and Red /5 to a SuperFractor 1/1, and repeated him across four chrome insert families — 1983 Topps, Museum Collection, Tier 1 and Knockout — each with its own autograph version. 2019 Topps UFC Knockout on 8 May is his deepest hit product: base #59 plus Knockout Autograph Relics #KAR-TF, UFC Fire Autographs #FA-TF, Autograph Jumbo Fight Mat Relics #AJM-TF and three straight relic sets, all sharing Purple /25, Red /8 and Gold 1/1 tiers. Panini's licence then landed him in 2021 Prizm UFC as horizontal base #119 with the longest colour ladder he has ever had, Silver down through Mojo /25, Gold /10, Octagon /8 and Black 1/1, plus Fearless #14, Fireworks #20 and Instant Impact #22 — issued just as the losing run that began in August 2020 took hold, which is why it is a far commoner card than his Topps peaks.

Verified

2011 Topps UFC Moment of Truth #16 — Tony Ferguson.

High confidence

2012 Topps UFC Knockout #29 — Tony Ferguson.

Probable

2012 Topps UFC Knockout Notable Nicknames Autographs #NN-TF — Tony Ferguson.

Verified

2012 Finest UFC #41 — Tony Ferguson.

High confidence

2012 Topps UFC Bloodlines #84 — Tony Ferguson.

High confidence

2015 Topps UFC Champions #186 — Tony Ferguson.

High confidence

2017 Topps UFC Museum Collection Museum Autographs #MA-TF — Tony Ferguson.

High confidence

2019 Topps UFC Knockout Autograph Relics #KAR-TF — Tony Ferguson.

High confidence

2021 Panini Prizm UFC #119 — Tony Ferguson.