Packing a Punch: Recalling Panini America’s Historic Foray Into MMA Trading Cards
July 06, 2012

Every few Saturday nights I retire to an undisclosed location to watch the fastest-growing sport in the world. And as mixed-martial arts continues its ascent into the mainstream with network TV contracts, advertising deals for some of its biggest stars and steadily increasing press coverage, I hearken back to the days when MMA was nothing more than a hodgepodge of Neanderthals loaded in a cage somewhere in the Midwestern U.S. to the delight of blood-thirsty fans.

But in light of this weekend’s pivotal and highly anticipated UFC 148 PPV headlined by middleweight champion Anderson Silva and fight-promoting prodigy Chael Sonnen, I was inspired to pen this piece on Panini America’s landmark foray into the Octagon almost five years ago.

Read more: The Official Blog of Panini America

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