Ilia Topuria in 2022: the collections and fights of the year
2022 brought Ilia Topuria's first licensed cards, all from Panini. We have catalogued 154 cards with 2022 in the name, from 9 collections; 146 have a photo of the actual copy. This page puts them in release order, next to what he was doing in the Octagon.
Ilia Topuria started 2022 with an 11-0 pro record, as the back of his Select #23 says ("11-0 record as a pro entering 2022"), and 3-0 in the UFC. He finished it at 13-0, 5-0 in the UFC:
19 March, London: KO of Jai Herbert in the second round, at 1:07, in a lightweight bout, per the official event page.
December, UFC 282 in Las Vegas: submission of Bryce Mitchell in the second round, at 3:10, now at featherweight, per the official UFC 282 page.
The 2022 collections, in release order
Ilia Topuria has no licensed cards before 2022, and all of this year's are Panini. These are his collections, by release date:
March: Panini Instant UFC, #23 “Topuria KOs Herbert in the Second Round”, printed to order after the London fight; Beckett (secondary source) lists it in the 19 March block with a print run of 394.
September: Panini UFC Debut Edition, #70, the European album-and-sticker-style collection; Paninimania (secondary source) gives September 2022 as its first appearance.
December: the second Panini Instant UFC card, #147 “Topuria submits Mitchell in the Second Round”, after UFC 282.
2022 Immaculate UFC, #76, carries 2022 in its name but came out on 15 February 2023, per Cardboard Connection (secondary source). That is why it is here and not in Ilia Topuria in 2023.
This page groups by the year printed on the collection, which is how they are searched for and sold; the release date is on each line.
Card year and fight year
The only 2022 cards that tell a 2022 fight are the two Panini Instant cards: #23 (Jai Herbert) and #147 (Bryce Mitchell).
Panini's backs were written earlier: the back of Prizm #115, released six days after the KO of Jai Herbert, still says he had won his first three UFC fights. The back of Select #23 talks about his record “entering 2022”.
Rookie: the other 2022 page
Which of these is his rookie card, which carry the Rated Rookie or RC logo, and why 2023 Goodwin Champions also marks him as a rookie is in Ilia Topuria rookie cards. This page does not repeat that discussion: it is the index of the year.