Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), who is always looking for different ways to expand their name-brand as the sport of mixed martial arts (MMA) continues to grow on a global scale, recently released their 2014 Topps UFC "Knockout" card set, further helping the company become the "gold standard" in their sport.

"It's our longest-running UFC trading card brand," said Jeremy Fullerton, Topps' UFC Brand Manager, who noted that the card company and the MMA outfit have had a long-standing partnership since 2009. "We typically put out three brands per year. It's $20 a pack, and in the pack you're guaranteed one 'hit,' so it's a memorabilia card, an autographed card, or an autographed memorabilia card."

Among some of the cards that are included in the 2014 "Knockout" card set are the "UFC @utographs" which features the fighter's Twitter handle and autograph, "Three of a Kind Triple Autographs" -- which includes three fighters with a shared history, and "Relic" cards that contain fighter-worn shorts, shirts and mats from some of the company's classic fights including Gilbert Melendez vs Diego Sanchez (UFC 166), Lyoto Machida vs Dan Henderson (UFC 157), Anthony Pettis vs Ben Henderson (UFC 164), Ronda Rousey vs Liz Carmouche (UFC 157), Cain Velasquez vs Junior Dos Santos III (UFC 166), and Chris Wiedman's huge upset over Anderson Silva (UFC 168) in their rematch after "The Spider" lost his UFC Middleweight Championship to Weidman, among other fights.

"These cards have pieces of shirts and shorts that these fighters have worn," says Fullerton. "And we have cards that actually have pieces of the mat. So you'll get a card of Anderson Silva with a piece of the mat that he fought on."

Topps, who has deals in place with other sports brands such as the National Football League (NFL), Major League Baseball (MLB), Major League Soccer (MLS), and World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE), believes that series like the "Knockout" card sets that cater to hardcore UFC fans helps expand the brand, as well as give MMA fans an opportunity to keep a sense of connection with the fighters in the UFC stable.

"This is our high-end release, you're guaranteed to get one of those special cards per pack," said Fullerton to Latin Post. "We have components that are kind of like what we do for MLB and NFL -- like the 'Triple Threads' series, which may be familiar to card collectors in other sports, but that are UFC related. We also have the 'Fist-ogram' which is unique to the 'Knockout' series, which are super-sized cards that you will find inside the box but not in the pack, that will have the fighters dip their fist in ink and make a fist-print for the card, as well."

Fullerton also notes, after talking with MMA fans at events like the UFC Fan Expo, that not only is this a good way for fans to connect with the athletes and the company, but that he finds old-school card collectors returning to the hobby because Topps has expanded into up-and-coming sports like MMA.

"We have gone [to UFC Fan Expo] every year and we are continuing to spread the word that these cards are out and that they are special and not just these old cardboard cards from the the 60s, 70s, and 80s," said Fullerton, after attending July's UFC Fan Expo. "We got fans that are coming to us that used to be baseball or football card collectors as kids and fell away from the hobby over the years, heard about these cards and realized that this is a hobby that they still enjoyed."

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