Hobby Musings: UFC’s Tanner Boser excited for first trading card – A lot of people dream of the chance to be featured on a trading card. For mixed martial artist Tanner Boser, it recently became a reality. To his surprise and delight, he found out that he had been included in Panini’s 2021 Prizm UFC checklist. Getting ready for his next fight on June 5, he was kind enough to take some time out to discuss his reaction to his first card.
KS: Tanner, what was your reaction to seeing your trading card?
TB: I was really excited and thought it was really cool. I collected various kinds of cards growing, more so gaming cards than sports cards. Having myself on a trading card is pretty surreal though.
KS: What kinds of cards did you collect?
TB: When I was young, I collected Pokemon cards a lot. Dragonball Z, Digimon, I played a lot of Magic the Gathering. I also collected UFC cards when I was a young adult and they first came out.
KS: Do you still have any?
TB: Yeah, I have all of them. They’re back at my mom’s house where I grew up. My Pokemon cards aren’t first edition, so they aren’t the ones that have gone up a lot in value. I do have three of the original Pokemon packs sealed, so that’s kind of cool. I ended up getting them framed as a cool decoration for me.
KS: From your fighting career, is anything you’ve kept for keepsakes?
TB: I have a pair of gloves from every organization I’ve fought for. I train in the shorts I fight in, because it’s convenient, so I have those too. I also have three of the five unified belts I’ve won. Two are on display at the gyms I train at. I give away a lot of the stuff I get. I keep the clothes like my Fight Island t-shirt, that’s kind of cool. Fight Island hats as well. I wear hats, so I like to keep one of every one I get. Any doubles I get, I give away.
KS: Have you ever asked another fighter for an autograph or memorabilia?
TB: No, not since I’ve been involved in the sport professionally. When I was younger, there was a UFC event in Calgary. Wanderlei Silva was there and I believe Thiago Alves too. I got them to sign some autographs for me at that.
KS: What items do fans ask you to sign?
TB: Now that my card is out, people are messaging me and asking if they can send one in to sign. Asides from that, not too much. There’s a few people who have mailed me pictures they’ve printed asking to have them signed, which is cool. Maybe one or two t-shirts. With the card out, I’m definitely getting more and more requests for autographs. For now, I’m trying to keep up with it as much as I can.
KS: What is the strangest thing anyone has asked you to sign?
TB: Nothing that I can think of that really sticks out to me.
KS: Are you going to try and collect your cards?
TB: I’ll definitely get a few for my family and some friends. Probably just when people sell clumps of them in a lot. I’ve familiarized myself more with sports cards, especially Prizm over the past few days. I might get some of the colored variations, but I’m not looking to spend a lot on them. I did learn about card group breaks and found out you can buy a spot for a specific fighter. So I purchased a spot in a break for my cards, and I’m hoping to get some that way.
KS: Did you get any heads-up up from Panini that you’d have a card?
TB: No, I was completely caught by surprise.
KS: Is there any specific type card of yourself you’d want to see made?
TB: I’d love to see other cards made, but I’m just glad I did well enough last year that I got one made in general. I was on Cloud 9 all day when I first saw it. That being said, I’m not going to get ahead of myself for anything else yet. I’ve got to focus on winning fights. If something comes of that, great, but for now, I’m just happy to be on a card.
Tanner Boser’s first UFC trading cards can be found in 2021 Panini Prizm UFC.
SHOP TANNER BOSER UFC CARDS
Kelsey’s ability to bring hobby coverage to the mainstream sports fan has been a true asset. GTS is happy to feature his thoughts on collecting in Hobby Musings. The opinions expressed are his and do not necessarily reflect those of GTS Distribution.
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