UFC to make major change to fight gear for debuting athletes

UFC newcomers are going to look a little bit different going forward.

On May 28, it was announced that, starting with this weekend’s UFC card at the Apex, fighters making their debuts with the promotion will wear a unique “debut patch” to signify the milestone. Interestingly, this is being done to create new collectibles in partnership with Topps, a trading card company.

The company announced the change on social media, specifying that welterweight Andreas Gustafsson — the first debutant on Saturday’s card — will be the first to wear the new patch in the Octagon.

“UFC athletes will now wear a Debut Patch on their gear for their first fight,” Topps said in a post on X. “After the bout, the patch will go into a 1/1 signed trading card. Andreas ‘Bane’ Gustafsson will be the first athlete in history to wear a UFC Debut Patch.”

JUST IN: Debut Patches are coming to UFC.

UFC athletes will now wear a Debut Patch on their gear for their first fight. After the bout, the patch will go into a 1/1 signed trading card.

Andreas “Bane” Gustafsson will be the first athlete in history to wear a UFC Debut Patch. pic.twitter.com/GzmU0UjDjM

— Topps (@Topps) May 28, 2025

Which fighters will wear the new UFC debut patch this weekend?

Saturday’s card will go down at the UFC Apex facility in Las Vegas, Nevada. In the main event, Maycee Barber and Erin Blanchfield will collide in a high-stakes clash that will turn the winner into the top flyweight contenders in the sport.

Sweden’s Gustafsson earned his UFC contract with a knockout of Pat Pytlik on Dana White’s Contender Series. He will make his UFC debut — with his new patch on his shorts — in the third bout of the night. He’ll take on Trevin Giles in a short-notice catchweight, after his original opponent, Jeremiah Wells, withdrew from the card. Giles will not be making his debut — far from it. The American has already had 14 fights in the UFC, going 7-7 in that span. He has lost his last three.

Outside of Gustafsson, no other fighters will be making their UFC debuts on the card. So, Topps collectors will need to wait awhile before the company’s new collectibles are available in large numbers.

It is not clear if the fighters will be paid to wear this debut patch, like they are for wearing Venum fight gear. It’s also not known if they’ll receive a cut of sales from Topps.