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2012 Topps UFC Knockout Review
2012 Topps UFC Knockout is hobby exclusive that offers a variety of high-end hits. Topps offers one autograph relic, autograph or relic in each pack.
Price Point: High-End MMA Card
Box Break:
- Two Autographed Relic Cards
- Three Autographs
- Three Relic Cards
- Eight Parallels
- 40 Total Cards
The 100-card base set combines current fighters, retired legends, Strikeforce fighters and rookies. There's a great mixture of different fighters that are not only in the UFC but also Strikeforce. Topps continues with the UFC Debut cards which recognize rookie fighters. The base cards are a little thicker than other products. There are also five different parallel cards: Gold Parallel, Silver Parallel #/188, Green Parallel #/88, Red Parallel #/8, Mat Stock Parallel 1/1.
DESIGN:
There is a nice mixture of action and celebratory victory shots of fighters. The backgrounds don't have much color which makes the fighters standout in every card. It's giving them the spotlight in there cards and that should be the focus, not everything else on the card. The base cards are simple with just their names but with the emphasize on their last names. In most cases, the average ufc fan refers to a fighter by their last name. The back of the cards listed their height, weight, fighting out of (town), and weight class. In order to make the cards a little more interesting, there should be a place for statistics like wins, loses, submissions, and knockouts.
The fighter-worn relic set is bland. Nothing going on in the background makes it look boring. There are different color parallels for this set but those also have simple backgrounds.
Triple Threads designs are spectacular as usual. A lot of different things included on these cards with the company name that the fighter is associated with blended into the background.
The fight mat relics have an octagon shape around the relics. Inside each of the octagons is the ufc fight mat relic. There's no need for it to be so repetitive on the card. It says fight mat relic on the top of the card and that should be enough. There should be a different pattern inside the octagon instead of words.
Almost identical to the base card design besides the bottom of the card which is used for the fighters certified on-card autograph. The fighters stand out in each card with the background color fading.
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FUN:
Opening up mini-boxes with a guaranteed hit is always fun. There are a decent amount of sets to collect within the UFC Knockout product. Since there are only 40 cards in each box, it will be tough pulling doubles. Not only are there UFC fighters but also Strikeforce fighters and each fighter is known by the average UFC fan.
VALUE:
A little pricey for the average collector but there's a chance to pull some big name fighters like Georges St-Pierre, Brock Lesnar, Jon Jones, and Anderson Silva. The UFC Ring Girls are also included in the product with low numbered relics and autographs. Almost all of the fighters in this product are known fighters with the exception of some rookies. There are a guaranteed 8 hits in each box which is what collectors like opening instead of just regular base cards. If you're into relics and autographs, this is a product worth buying.
FINAL RATINGS:
Base 5/5
Design 4/5
Fun 5/5
Value 5/5
Total: 19/20
What I liked about the product?
The base cards make each fighter stand out whether it's during an action shot or if they are celebrating a victory. There are more than ten different relic or autograph sets combined in this product alone. That's a nice variety of cards to collect. Some of the autographs are on-card which is always a plus. Topps does a great job getting fans closer to the action with fight mats and fighter-worn memorabilia. It's great seeing the Triple Threads set make it into this UFC Knockout instead of having it's own product release.
What I didn't like about the product?
A problem with the base and silver parallel cards is that it's tough to tell which card is the parallel unless the card is turned over. That's the easiest way of telling if the card is a silver parallel since all of the base backgrounds like exactly the same. In the fighter-worn memorabilia, the background is too boring. There's really no need for that set because it looks like there was no effect into making it.
I will be giving away some of the cards in future contests during UFC PPV events.
I'd like to thank Topps for giving me the opportunity to review this product. For more information on all their products, visit them at www.topps.com.
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