The rookie
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.
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.
- Earliest licensed card2011 Topps UFC Moment of Truth #16 High confidence
- First MMA card2011 Topps UFC Moment of Truth #16 High confidence
- First UFC card2011 Topps UFC Moment of Truth #16 High confidence
- First certified autograph2012 Topps UFC Knockout Fighter Autographs #FA-TF High confidence
- Recognized rookie card2011 Topps UFC Moment of Truth #16 High confidence
The evidence behind each
- 2011Earliest licensed card — Cardboard Connection's 2011 Topps UFC Moment of Truth checklist places him at #16 in the 220-card base set and in no other checklist in the product; MMA Rookies lists no Ferguson card before it.
- 2011First MMA card — Same card — a UFC-licensed Topps issue and the earliest Ferguson card identified.
- 2011First UFC card — Cardboard Connection checklist; Topps Ripped names the same card as his first Topps appearance, tied to his TUF 13 win.
- 2012First certified autograph — Cardboard Connection's 2012 Topps UFC Knockout Fighter Autographs checklist reads 'FA-TF Tony Ferguson'. He appears in no autograph checklist in 2011 Topps UFC Moment of Truth, and the two 2012 Finest UFC signatures (#A-TF and #FM-TF) shipped on 28 August 2012.
- 2011Recognized rookie card — MMA Rookies names it his True Rookie Card and lists no other rookies; Topps' own Ripped article titles the card '2011 Topps UFC Moment of Truth #16 Gold Tony Ferguson RC'; Beckett's marketplace lists '2011 Topps UFC Moment of Truth #16 Tony Ferguson RC'.
Key Ferguson cards
10 cards chosen for significance, not completeness; autographs and numbered cards follow below.
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 Fighter Autographs #FA-TF — the earliest certified Ferguson signature, from a 50-card checklist with Red /8 and Mat 1/1 above the unnumbered base, and the same product's Fight Mat Relic #FM-TF. He is not in Knockout's 20-card Notable Nicknames Autographs checklist, which is the 'El Cucuy' nickname set collectors most often assume must carry him. 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.
Autographs
3 certified autographs in the archive.
Card eras
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 Topps UFC Knockout (6 April) gave him base #29 and, more importantly, Fighter Autographs #FA-TF — his first certified autograph, from a 50-card checklist with Red /8 and Mat 1/1 parallels above the unnumbered signature. The same product also carries a Fight Mat Relic #FM-TF of him. 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.
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.
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 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 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.
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.
Rookie parallels
Sets
Where Ferguson's key cards come from.
- 20112011 Topps UFC Moment of Truth1 key card
- 20122012 Topps UFC Knockout1 key card
- 20122012 Finest UFC1 key card
- 20122012 Topps UFC Bloodlines1 key card
- 20122012 Topps UFC Knockout Fighter Autographs1 key card
- 20152015 Topps UFC Champions1 key card
- 20172017 Topps UFC Museum Collection Museum Autographs1 key card
- 20182018 Topps Chrome UFC1 key card
- 20192019 Topps UFC Knockout Autograph Relics1 key card
- 20212021 Panini Prizm UFC1 key card
Buying & wanted
- 012011 Topps UFC Moment of Truth #16 Ruby /8 and Diamond 1/1 — the scarce parallels of his rookie card
- 022012 Topps UFC Knockout Fighter Autographs #FA-TF Red /8 or Mat 1/1 — the top of his first certified autograph
- 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
Nothing from the archive is currently available.
Cards come and go one at a time. Selling one?
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Sources & research Verified×2High confidence×14
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.
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.
- 2011 Topps UFC Moment of Truth, accessed September 21, 2026
- Topps (Ripped)Top Tony Ferguson cards, accessed September 22, 2026
- SportsCardsProTony Ferguson #16 — 2011 Topps UFC Moment of Truth, accessed September 22, 2026
- Beckett Marketplace2011 Topps UFC Moment of Truth #16 Tony Ferguson RC, accessed September 22, 2026
- SportsCardsPro2011 Finest UFC set list (no Ferguson entry found), accessed September 22, 2026
- SportsCardsPro2011 Topps UFC Title Shot set list (no Ferguson entry found), accessed September 22, 2026
- eBayTony Ferguson 2011 Topps UFC Moment Of Truth Base RC #16 Debut, accessed September 22, 2026
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 Fighter Autographs #FA-TF — the earliest certified Ferguson signature, from a 50-card checklist with Red /8 and Mat 1/1 above the unnumbered base, and the same product's Fight Mat Relic #FM-TF. He is not in Knockout's 20-card Notable Nicknames Autographs checklist, which is the 'El Cucuy' nickname set collectors most often assume must carry him. 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.
2011 Topps UFC Moment of Truth #16 — Tony Ferguson.
- 2011 Topps UFC Moment of Truth, accessed September 21, 2026
- Topps (Ripped)Top Tony Ferguson cards, accessed September 22, 2026
- SportsCardsProTony Ferguson #16 — 2011 Topps UFC Moment of Truth, accessed September 22, 2026
- Beckett Marketplace2011 Topps UFC Moment of Truth #16 Tony Ferguson RC, accessed September 22, 2026
- eBayTony Ferguson 2011 Topps UFC Moment Of Truth Base RC #16 Debut, accessed September 22, 2026
2012 Topps UFC Knockout #29 — Tony Ferguson.
2012 Finest UFC #41 — Tony Ferguson.
2012 Topps UFC Bloodlines #84 — Tony Ferguson.
2015 Topps UFC Champions #186 — Tony Ferguson.
2017 Topps UFC Museum Collection Museum Autographs #MA-TF — Tony Ferguson.
2018 Topps UFC Chrome #5 — Tony Ferguson.
2019 Topps UFC Knockout Autograph Relics #KAR-TF — Tony Ferguson.
2021 Panini Prizm UFC #119 — Tony Ferguson.
2012 Topps UFC Knockout Fighter Autographs #FA-TF — Tony Ferguson.