A Relic Card Tied to an Actual Event

My go-to breaker for UFC stuff has (temporarily, maybe?) closed up shop, so I haven't been as focused on that collection lately. I was never one of his biggest customers, but I did enjoy sitting down for an evening each week to watch and participate in the breaks. I've still been picking up the occasional card or two on eBay, though, usually trying to find a few cards from one seller so I can save on shipping. That's what happened with today's two cards. There were a few more cards that I had bids in on, but one goal for this collection is to get cards for my PCs that are cheap, so I tend to get outbid a lot. It doesn't bother me as much as it used to, because there will always be something else I want. I've always got an eBay watch list that is 4 pages long, and I've got wish lists on several other sites, too, so I'm never spoiled for options when I feel like buying something.

This Jim Miller auto / relic comes from 2013 Topps UFC Knockout and is numbered # 326 / 399. Miller has lost more than he's won lately, and is going to be on the upcoming UFC 200 fight card mostly because he also fought in UFC 100 rather than because he's an up-and-coming fighter or big superstar. Good enough, I guess, and maybe a decent win on the big stage will help to prolong his career for a while longer.

I also picked up this 2012 Topps UFC Knockout Fight Mat Relic Card of Urijah Faber, numbered # 88 / 88. The edges and corners on this card were kind of roughed up, but it's probably going to be in my collection until I die anyway, so that doesn't matter too much. Maybe one of my kids will inherit my card collection, and maybe my wife will trash it or sell it for pennies on the dollar. It won't really matter to me at that point. The cool thing about this card is that it actually is tied to a specific event. Down at the bottom of the card is the sentence, "The relic contained on this card came specifically from UFC 132." I wrote this post before I wrote yesterday's post, so this is actually the second post in a row that has featured a relic from a specific event.

Looking at pictures from the event, it looks like my relic came from one of the two Harley-Davidson logos on the mat. It's pretty cool that I can match the mat piece in my card to some specific part of the mat at the event. Cruz vs. Faber was the headliner on that card, and Faber lost by decision, brining their record against each other to 1 - 1. Just a couple of weeks ago they fought again for the 3rd time, with Faber unfortunately coming out on the wrong end of a one-sided 5-round beatdown. He even hinted at retirement in the post-fight interviews. I guess that's what happens when you choose to PC the older fighters instead of the upcoming young superstars.

I've started to really enjoy watching UFC events, and I'll probably keep picking up MMA cards for as long as the fights hold my interest. It is too bad that TeamBreaks.com is taking a break, but I can understand getting burnt out or stopping because it's hard to fill breaks.