Kimbo vs. Gannon

The infamous Kimbo vs Gannon fight pitted street fighting sensation Kimbo Slice against Boston police officer and mixed martial artist Sean Gannon. The video was recorded somewhere in Boston, in an undisclosed private facility, with participants present by invitation only. The video was later a media scandal for Gannon due to the illegality of the video of the street fight.

Kimbo’s first loss, Kimbo vs. Gannon exposed some obvious flaws in Kimbo’s fighting and training. For one thing, his stamina dissipated in almost seconds as he charged full power against Gannon with a few heavy blows.

Controversy surrounds the fight to this day, as both fighters claim they were unclear on the rules: Gannon performed a guillotine choke on Kimbo, and Kimbo retaliated by hitting Gannon while he was on the ground. Members of both teams of wrestlers protested and interrupted the fight several times, but by the end, Kimbo had completely run out of energy and Gannon was hitting him freely, even though Gannon’s face was disfigured and bloody.

The video of the fight became incredibly popular, especially as later videos of Kimbo spread and his popularity grew; people felt the man seemed invincible, and were curious to see the Kimbo vs. Gannon video, the only video in which Kimbo loses.

As a result, Dana White, president of the UFC, offered Sean Gannon the opportunity to fight in the UFC. Gannon’s opponent was Brendan Lee Hinkle, who defeated Gannon by TKO in the first round.

At the post-fight press conference after Kimbo vs. Thompson, a reporter asked Kimbo Slice if he would be interested in an official rematch with Sean Gannon after his loss in the unofficial fight video seen online. Kimbo replied, “Who?” and pretended not to recognize the name.

Gannon doesn’t appear to have fought professionally since his UFC loss to Hinkle. But anecdotes of other street fights have circulated. Kimbo vs Gannon, however refined it may be, is still far more popular and famous than most, if not all, MMA videos.