The video with Byrd spread to countless internet MMA forums, eventually making its way to the MMA.tv website, where Boston police officer and amateur MMA fighter Sean Gannon noticed it. As the legend goes, Gannon saw the video, thought little of Kimbo's skills, and challenged him, beginning the notorious Kimbo vs Gannon fight. The fight took place in an undisclosed, makeshift sparring location.
At the one minute mark of the Fight, Gannon puts Kimbo in a guillotine, showing off his mma skills, but Kimbo's crew rushed in saying it's against the rules. Sean releases Kimbo and Kimbo punches Gannon while he's on the ground which is also against the rules. Later Gannon puts Kimbo in another guillotine and this time the fight isn't stopped. They exchange punches with both fighters appearing tired. At the 6:20 mark, Gannon knees Kimbo and once again people jump in letting Kimbo catch his breath. The fight is over at this point with Kimbo getting knocked down a couple of times and finally being counted out.
Both fighters were fatigued to the point of collapsing, and Gannon's face was brutally mangled. Reportedly, the spread of the fight video prompted the UFC to invite Sean Gannon to UFC 43, and leading up to Gannon's match, commentator Joe Rogan mentioned several times Kimbo Slice, the video of the fight, and its internet attention. Gannon went on to get whipped in his UFC match and is now 1-1 in MMA.
As seen during the video, there was much controversy over the fight's rules, particularly when Sean Gannon attempted a guillotine choke. It's known that Kimbo only accepts stand-up, bareknuckle boxing bouts. Gannon claims that Kimb's crew sayed no rules would be enforced but when Gannon came to the fight Kimbo's crew hastily made rules up. Gannon states that takedowns and submissions on the ground were not allowed but Kimbo's crew said nothing about knees and standing submissions.
It was rumored that a fight with Kimbo required a $10,000 bet from both sides. On the MMA.tv boards, Gannon hinted at this, saying, "Anyone who enjoyed the fight should kick him a little something. He earned it." A post from Kimbo's management, Southbeat Records, also mentioned a wager of ten thousand dollars, and added that a challenger need not have any fighting experience, only money to bet.