Upper Deck will soon release the first ever set devoted strictly to the sport of mixed martial arts.  The set will be comprised of a 60-card base set including such greats as Royce Gracie, Chuck Liddell, Tito Ortiz, Ken Shamrock and Anderson Silva.  In addition to the base set will be insert sets such as The Art of Submission, The Main Events and Knockout Artists.  The set, including inserts, will also feature parallels with limited print runs.

Each box will contain on average two autographs from sets named “Signature Moves,” “Otherwise Known As…” and “Classic Clashes.”  The Signature Moves autograph set will feature all fighters and other individuals included in the base set.  The most intriguing of the sets, “Classic Clashes,” will feature dual autographs of fighters from some of the most memorable matches of all time, such as Ken Shamrock and Royce Gracie, Tito Ortiz and Chuck Liddell, and Andrei Arlovski and Tim Sylvia.

Additionally, the set is not league specific, so collectors can find other fighters than just those employed by UFC.

MMA cards have seen initial success among collectors from sets such as Sportkings and Donruss Americana, so there’s no reason to believe that Upper Deck’s shot at riding that wave with a product devoted exclusively to the sport will be anything but a success.

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