The Beckett Blog

UFC Heavyweight champion Brock Lesnar defended his title against Frank Mir in the main event of the ballyhooed UFC 100 pay per view Saturday, doing so with revenge on his mind and zero certified autographs on his checklist.

The former World Wrestling Entertainment phenomenon, who also tried his hand at the National Football League before entering mixed martial arts, avenged the only loss of his five-fight MMA career in brutal fashion with a second-round TKO.

Lesnar, arguably the most decorated crossover athlete in trading card history, has appeared on 54 licensed trading cards across three major organizations – the WWE, the NFL and now the UFC. Yet his first certified autograph, a card that most certainly would rank as a product-making coup driving sales and upward price guide values, remains the bane of many a product developer’s existence.

“His first certified autograph would be a $250 card, easy,” said one industry executive with intimate knowledge of the autograph acquisition process. “And right now, considering the incredible hype surrounding him and his fight at UFC 100, that number probably is extremely conservative.”

According to a source close to the development of Topps’ wildly successful UFC Round 1 and its anticipated follow up set to release in August, the reason Lesnar’s signatures are so elusive can be summed up in two words: Vince McMahon.

As the story goes, Lesnar allegedly was forced to sign so many autographs as part of his contract with the WWE that he grew tired of the practice and now essentially refuses to do so, at least in quantity. Another rumored explanation is that Lesnar’s per-autograph cost is simply too cost-prohibitive for manufacturers.

Whether or not those explanations are valid doesn’t change the fact that one of the most accomplished professional athletes of the 21^st century has no autographed trading cards. Highlighting what he does have are 11 memorabilia cards – ranging in value from $8-$50 – from a handful of WWE Fleer products, four 2004 NFL Rookie Cards (Sweet Spot #203 at $25 and Playoff Honors #173 at $20 are his best) and a $60 2004 Leaf Rookies & Stars Longevity Holofoil parallel limited to just 25 copies.

Lesnar’s best UFC card to date, a Silver parallel of his base issue limited to 288 copies and chronicling his February 2008 debut against Mir, is currently valued at $7.50.

– Tracy Hackler