Age & Condition Is Important
Published by on November 27th, 2007 in Memorabilia

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MMA is not a sport so old that any collectibles are really worth very much if they are not in mint or near-mint condition. A case in point may be the more dated UFC posters, which can be worth up to ten times more if they are in mint condition than if they are in good condition. Sometimes a major factor is simply how old the poster is. For example, everyone would have an interest in an item from the first Ultimate Fighting Championship, simply because it was, well, the first. As the years go by, the condition will be important, but might take a back seat to the event.
 
Of course, for some promotions, there are many more posters printed than for others. That will dilute the value, because there are likely to be many more in circulation. And the “attrition” of that circulation, so to speak, won’t really set in for years. In other words, they will not become “rare.”

Dan Severn Rookie Card, Graded by Beckett.
 
As the hobby, as it applies to MMA, matures, the UFC memorabilia from its pre-Zuffa days will begin to appreciate more and more in value. At the beginning of the UFC, the logo was different, the owners were different, and their methods of promotion were different, meaning they did not have a chance to flood the market with promotional material or merchandise and so there won’t be as much of it as a widely-promoted UFC event as you would see it today. Back then, the UFC owners were not thinking out what was going to become a collector’s item; they were just trying to launch a successful promotion. Not that they were unsophisticated, but they were not all that concerned with creating a collectibles market.
 
Key factors may also include the competitors that were on some of the early cards. Something with the Gracies on it, or Ken Shamrock, or even Dan Severn, is going to worth more than something with, say, Patrick Smith on it. But be careful about all of this. When there is the smell of money in the air, that’s when the unscrupulous people come out of the woodwork. Be on the lookout for dealers or individuals who are touting a poster as something that is “original” when in fact it is just a reprint. The reprints or reproductions that took place years after the fact are NOT authentic. As if we had to tell you.