Gannon did pursue a career in MMA. The UFC had thought about signing Kimbo, but then saw the Gannon fight, and said well screw Kimbo, lets get this guy. So he got his first fight, and then a contract with the UFC. He got TKO'd in the first round and quit MMA altogether.
Kimbo doesnt hold a candle to any heavyweight in the top 25. If EliteXC ever wants him to have any credibility, they need to let him fight people other than washouts. Thompson was supposed to lose, and if Miragliotta wasnt on the payroll, he would have stopped the fight in the second round like it should have been. He stopped two other fights early in the night, but then conveniently let the EliteXC posterboy take over a minutes worth of elbows with zero defence. Gary Shaw is a tool, and their CBS show made a mockery of MMA.
Gannon didn't quit MMA, here is a piece of the ESPN slice article for last issue, the rematch is very possible.
"Let's go back: In 2004, Sean Gannon, a 33-year-old Boston cop, agreed to a bare-knuckle bout with Slice at a still-secret East Coast martial arts studio. In a brutal back-and-forth, Slice bloodied Gannon's face, but the 6'3", 265-pound southpaw knocked Slice down three times in 10 minutes, the third for the decisive count of 30. Clips were posted to YouTube (more than five million hits), and buzz from the bout helped Gannon land a 2005 UFC fight. He seemed poised for fame, but the Boston PD didn't like the bad PR from the underground Slice bout and instructed Gannon to stand down. He fought anyway, lasting 4:14 against Branden Lee Hinkle, and was suspended from his job for two weeks without pay. Gannon hasn't fought since.
Talk regarding a Slice rematch started immediately, and calls to make the fight intensified as Kimbo's fame spread. Slice wants the fight, saying famously: "I would literally give my left nut—but I wouldn't tell anybody—to fight him again." The bosses at Elite XC say it'd be an easy sell to CBS. Gannon, meanwhile, has remained silent—the Boston PD forbids officers from talking to the media without permission. He refers all questions to his manager, Joe Cavallaro.
A six-time New England Golden Gloves champ, Gannon still trains at a Boston MMA gym to stay sharp. He's been a cop for 12 years and likes his job. But when the money is right—and insiders expect an agreement by year's end—he'll hope for permission to meet Slice in the cage, arguing that Boston cops have received approval to box. If told no, Gannon faces a decision: fight and deal with the consequences, or quit his job and chase an MMA career.
Meanwhile, Kimbo waits. ""
He self addmitingly needs alot of work to be competative at the highest MMA level so I dont see the problem with letting him fight some "washouts" to get tuned up for an eventual big time bout with a ranked MMA'er. I think UFC is too damn stuck up and if anything Kimbo would bring only more viewers and followers, it is a business after all. He gets his ass beat so be it but give the guy a chance to get trained in some freestyle and then we will have this debate. You gotta admit, the dude is cool looking and he sure would f**k me up !!lol