Chasing 'Rowdy' Ronda Rousey

I wish I could come up with a clever title for this blog post, but I'm drawing a blank. A few months ago I decided it was time to add a Ronda Rousey autograph to my collection. My initial plan was to go for a Topps Chrome autograph, but the ones I saw were all sticker autographs that lacked eye appeal.

I eventually settles on this 2016 Topps UFC Top of the Class autograph, numbered # 15 / 25. It's a sticker autograph, but the design of the card hides the sticker pretty well, and her signature is all on the sticker. I was pretty happy with that, and I was glad to finally add the autograph of one of the biggest names in MMA to my card boxes.

A little more recently, a Rousey collector listed a bunch of their collection on eBay, with some fairly reasonable prices. I added several to my watch list, but didn't really want to commit to buying another Rousey autograph. The seller reduced their prices at the same time an eBay Bucks promotion was going on, though, and I caved and bought an on-card Ronda Rousey signature. This one comes from 2013 Topps UFC Knockout, and is numbered # 78 / 99.

Later I got to thinking that it would be nice to have a Ronda Rousey WWE autograph card in my collection. There are rumors that she might not be with WWE for all that long, and I didn't really want to miss my chance to get one. She's got a few sticker autographs out there, but I noticed that I could get an on-card signature in the recently-released 2019 Topps WWE Transcendent Collection. I won this auction for about the cost of a group break spot, which I think is a pretty good deal for one of the bigger names in the product. This is the Purple parallel of her autograph, numbered # 09 / 10. 

The card does have a scratch on the surface on the left side, but I can live with that. It is funny to me how I am looking for things to complain about on an autograph card of one of the bigger names from one of the highest-end products, when as a teenager in collecting I would have gone absolutely nuts if I'd pulled a relic or autograph card of even a semi-star. Things have changed a lot over the last 20 years.

I may be done with Ronda Rousey autographs now, but we'll see what the future brings. I am pretty happy to have a couple of nice examples from her UFC career, as well as a pretty big card from her time in the WWE.

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.