Here is a little sneak peak of Round 5 MMA’s Series 2 action figures caught on video at this weekend’s Comic Con in San Diego.

From the left: Rich Franklin, Sean Sherk, and Anderson Silva.

Randy Couture had a booth promoting his exclusive Entertainment Earth Round 5 MMA Action Figure which I just received by the way. Unfortunately I wasn’t there to get my figure signed.

Updates regarding UFC action figures
I also found out some new info regarding the UFC’s new action figures. The lineups will be 6 to 10 figures per wave. Also they will be releasing two packs just like yours truly suggested in the previous post.

That’s all the news for now. Until things start to pick up in the MMA Action Figure world, posts will be scarce so hang in there.

A couple of years ago me and my cousin actually considered starting our own line of MMA action figures. We quickly realized that we would not be able to fund such a venture and the idea became a fleeting memory.

Classic Match Ups Series
One of the idea’s that we had that I hope the UFC or Round 5 will take advantage of is a series of classic match ups figures. Basically the figures would come two to a pack and feature some of MMA’s historical match ups.

Match Ups Figures I would like to see:

• Royce Gracie vs Kazushi Sakuraba
• Fedor Emelianenko vs Mirko Filipovic
• Wanderlei Silva vs Chuck Liddell
• Royce Gracie vs Ken Shamrock
• Minotauro Nogueira vs Josh Barnett

What match ups would you like to see if this series ever came to fruition?

This isn’t breaking news or anything but I figured some of you might not have heard about his yet.

Round 5 MMA announced their line up for Series 2 of their champions action figures at a launch event in Toronto, Canada, last month.

In attendance was Randy “The Natural” Couture who has a figure in Series 1 and Sean “The Muscle Shark” Sherk who was their to announce Series 2.

Series 2 Line Up

• Sean “The Muscle Shark” Sherk
• Anderson “The Spider” Silva
• Rich “Ace” Franklin

When
Round 5 MMA’s Champions Series 2 action figures will be available this Fall. Like Series 1, the figures will be available online and in the US at KB Toy Stores, FYE, Champ Sports and select specialty retailers.

One of this years exclusive 2008 comic-con action figures is none other than “The Natural” himself Randy Couture.

This Entertainment Earth Exclusive is a variation of the original Round 5 MMA “Series 1″ Randy Couture Action Figure.

Variations

• Green logo shorts instead of red logo shorts
• EE and Comic-Con logos on shorts

The figure is a limited edition of 1000 pieces

How do I get it?
To be the first to own one of these limited edition figures you must attend Comic-Con 2008 in San Diego, CA, and stop by booth #2343 to pick up and purchase your figure.

However if the figures don’t sell out at Comic-Con, Entertainment Earth sells the remainder of them on their website. You can pre-order one here now and be first in line to own one.

Jeremy Padawer, the vice president of entertainment brand marketing with Jakks Pacific, spoke with MMAJunkie today and released some new details regarding the new UFC action figure line.

The Action Figure Business
Action figures generate $1.5 billion in sales every year in the United States. More than one third of the “toys” purchased are actually purchased as collectibles by men 15 years and older.

“These are legitimate collectibles,” said Padawer, whose company has a four-year master toy license agreement with the UFC. “If you look online or in the secondary market, you’ll see where some of these action figures, specifically limited-edition ones, are selling for $200 to $1,000. It is amazing how strong the collector segment is in the action-figure business.”

UFC Legends
Padawer then went on to say that Jakks will be producing a limited edition series of UFC legends. He also stated that the company has plans to produce a “classics” line of figures that will go all the way back to UFC 1. He expects these types of figures to do well in the secondary market with collectors.

When
The first UFC figures will hit major retailers such as Wal-Mart, Target, and Toys”R”Us nation wide in late 2009. A broad launch of the action figure line is expected at the beginning of 2010.

WrestlingFigs.com just unveiled the first prototype pictures of the new Jakks UFC figures. The prototype pics include the figures of Brock Lesnar, Chuck Liddell and (no your eyes aren’t deceiving you) Dana White.

Are you kidding me?
Out of the first three figures, we only get one real UFC fighter. I’m not saying Lesnar isn’t a true UFC fighter but come on, he has one fight in the UFC. They could have picked someone a little more deserving.

First Impression
The first thing I notice is that Dana White does not look like Dana White. Besides the bald head and trendy shirt, I see no resemblance whatsoever. The other two figures look pretty good. I mean it’s not hard to make a figure that looks like Brock Lesnar. Chuck Liddell’s figure by far has the best likeness. Besides the fact that there is a foot of space in between their legs they aren’t too bad. Then again these are only prototypes so I can’t really judge until I see the final product.

Recap of the UFC’s deal with Jakks
In case you missed the story here is a recap of the UFC’s exclusive deal with Jakks Pacific.

On Tuesday, June 10th, UFC president Dana White along with Brock Lesnar announced a 4 year license agreement with toy maker, Jakks Pacific. The duo made the announcement on CNBC’s “Power Lunch” program. During the show, White also unveiled the Liddell and Lesnar prototype figures.

The UFC’s exclusive action figures will be released next Christmas and will come with accessories such as an octagon playset to display the fighters in (or if your like me, to reenact fights in).

UFC fighters expected to be in the first launch

• Chuck Liddell of course
• Forrest Griffin
• Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira
• Brock Lesnar
• Michael Bisping
• Anderson Silva
• And who can forget Dana White

The new UFC action figures might not seem like a big deal to some but for the fighters it’s another story. This will allow fighters to finally make a recurring income outside of the cage, one that doesn’t require them to be healthy and uninjured. Up until this point, if a fighter doesn’t fight, he doesn’t get paid.

The first time I ever saw Round 5 MMA’s new MMA action figures was last year when I saw a picture of the first prototype of Randy “The Natural” Couture.

Although it was the caricature style figure (I’m more a fan of the realistic style figures) I was still impressed and couldn’t wait to get my hands on one or all of them. Of course the prototype still needed some work but overall I was impressed with David Cortes’s sculpture work and couldn’t wait to see the finished product complete with card.

Series 1 is called “World of MMA Champions” and consist of four of MMA’s past or current champions of the sport. The complete set includes Tito “The Huntington Beach Bad Boy” Ortiz, Randy “The Natural” Couture as stated earlier, Quinton “Rampage” Jackson, and of course Matt Hughes, the most dominant welterweight champion in the history of the UFC.

Round 5 MMA’s action figures were supposed to arrive in time for Christmas 2007 but that day would never come. The date was pushed back to March 2008 due to a quality control issue and my figures didn’t end up arriving until half way through May. A disappointment to say the least but the anticipation only grew and made their arrival even more exciting.

(Leaves to go into closet and retrieve figure for inspection)

Specifications
Each figure stands 6″ tall and features 8 points of articulation. In simple terms you can move the arms in two different places, the legs, head and waist.

Quality
Right off the bat I was amazed at the overall quality of the complete product. The figure is encased in a stunning clear plastic card that features really nice graphics including a real picture of the fighter along with his signature (printed of course). The back of the card lists all four fighters in Series 1 and gives you some detailed stats that include style of fighting, height, weights, etc…

The figure itself is extremely detailed down to the stubble on Randy Couture’s chin. Each fighters sponsors are even printed on their shorts which really brings it to life. The sculptor did a great job on the muscle groups as well not missing a beat or leaving anything out. The only critique I have heard is that their hands and feet are too big but that comes along with the style of the caricature figure.

Accessories
In series 1, the only fighter that comes with an accessory is Quinton Jackson, who comes with his signature “Home Depot” style chain around his neck.

Sculptor
Round 5 MMA action figures were hand sculpted by David Cortes, owner of INU Art Design studio and famous for his McFarlane figures. He is well known for sculpting comic book characters as well as mainstream figures like Hellboy, Spawn, and the Incredible Hulk.

Overall
As a collector I would highly recommend adding Round 5 MMA’s Series 1 action figures to your collection. The figures can be purchased separately or in an entire set at MMAWarehouse.

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