Boston Police Patrolman Sean “The Cannon” Gannon has an impressive resume, on paper. Gannon, who stands at 6’3″ and weighs 265 lbs, is a six time Golden Gloves Champion, a Northeast Regional Boxing Champion, a Massachusetts State Heavyweight Blackbelt Judo Champion, and a North American Grappling Association World Champion.
“The Cannon” first gained notoriety in the world of mixed martial arts from a street fight video that made its way across the internet last year. Gannon went toe to toe with Kimbo Slice in a brutal bare-knuckle exchange. Slice, cousin of boxer Emmanuel Augustus, is an underground street fighter from Miami. Gannon had seen a video of Slice, and apparently was not impressed. Gannon found out Kimbo was accepting challenges, and flew to Florida to fight him. The video is rather brutal, but borders on silly at times.
Once the video began to circulate, Gannon fans popped up all over the internet; most of them probably loud-mouthed “Southies” that believe the Red Sox really were cursed. His popularity continued to grow in August of 2004, when Gannon made his ‘official’ MMA debut in the Mass Destruction promotion, and was victorious over Mike Dexter. The infamous Gannon/Kimbo video continued to make the rounds on the ‘net, eventually finding its way into the hands of the Boston Herald and the Boston Globe. That’s when the shit hit the fan.
As you might imagine, the Boston Police Department frowns upon their officers engaging in unsanctioned street fights. Gannon embarrassed the BPD, and damn near lost his job over the incident. Much to everyone’s surprise, Ultimate Fighting Championship announced in January of this year that they had signed Gannon to a three-fight contract. This was an obvious move on UFC’s behalf to capitalize on Gannon’s ‘freak show’ aspect, and exploit Boston’s Lamest to get their pay-per-view buyrates up. Unfortunately for UFC, Gannon needed to have surgery to repair a torn labrum in his shoulder, and his debut would be delayed until October.
On October 7, 2005, Sean Gannon would finally make his Ultimate Fighting Championship debut at “UFC 55: Fury” at the Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, CT. Gannon’s MMA record prior to UFC 55 was 1-0-0, and here he was about to fight live on pay-per-view for UFC, America’s number one MMA promotion.
Before the fight, Joe Rogan sat down with UFC President Dana White, and gushed like a goddamn schoolgirl about the Gannon/Kimbo fight. Rogan made Gannon sound like the second coming of Christ. He went on and on, with a big, stupid smile on his face. I’ve never hated Joe Rogan so much. Rogan and White commented on how Gannon’s job was in jeopardy once again, this time over a sanctioned UFC fight. The status of Sean Gannon’s employment with the BPD, following UFC 55, is currently unknown.
Gannon’s opponent, Branden Lee Hinkle, was also making his UFC debut that night. However, Hinkle had a 11-6-0 MMA record under his belt (including 7 (T)KOs, 3 submissions, and 1 decision). Hinkle is the real deal in MMA, but Rogan continued to put Gannon over as serious threat.
Gannon vs. Hinkle lasted all of four minutes and fourteen seconds. Gannon showed absolutely no offense, and had no defense for Hinkle’s ground-and-pound offensive. After bludgeoning Gannon with a barrage of unanswered fists and elbows, the fight was stopped before the first round ended. Gannon was left a pathetic, bloody mess, and Joe Rogan was strangely quiet.
Gannon reminded me of Tank Abbott, with even less talent. His face looked strikingly similar to Tank’s, following his loss to Wesley “Cabbage” Correira at UFC 45. The only thing that separates Abbott and Gannon is their styles (or lack thereof). While Abbott is certainly one of the least disciplined fighters in MMA, he does have some submission skills to go along with his striking. Gannon, on the other hand, has no real MMA training. Sure, he’s well versed in boxing, judo and grappling, but he’s never been trained to put them all together. If Gannon continues his MMA career without proper training, his portfolio will be even more horrendous than Abbott’s 9-11-0 record.
When the UFC hired Sean Gannon, it set an ugly precedent. They basically spat in the faces of all the guys who train their asses off; shedding blood, sweat, and tears on a daily basis to make it to UFC. The UFC says they want to showcase the world’s greatest fighters, but by bringing in Gannon, it sends the wrong message to the next generation of fighters. “Hey, don’t worry about all that training shit. Just beat some people up on the internet, and we’ll put you on television!”
Gannon is a fat, pasty Mick with an awful Boston accent. That alone is enough for me to hate him. It’s Irish white trash like him that gives Irish white trash like me a bad name. I don’t hate all Harps from the Boston area (I happen to love ‘Irish’ Mickey Ward and Dropkick Murphys), but Red Sox fans and guys like this are the worst of the worst. Sean Gannon is just another out-of-shape brawler, with no conditioning, that thinks he’s going to be the next World Champion. Andrei Arlovski would eat that motherf*cker alive.
As for Joe Rogan. Fuck, Joe, you’re hilarious when you’re on Opie & Anthony, and your commentary for UFC is always informative and funny, but please stop smoking so much weed. It’s affecting your judgment on people’s fighting abilities. You know, I wouldn’t be surprised if Rogan had a hand in convincing UFC to bring Gannon in. Joe Rogan: Shitdick.
Sean Gannon has no business fighting in the Ultimate Fighting Championship. It would take him years of serious training, and fighting in smaller promotions, before he would be a serious contender in UFC’s Heavyweight division. The problem is, Gannon is 35 years old. He should stick to flatfoot duty in ‘Bahston,’ and beating up crazy black guys in Miami. Granted, age isn’t always a deciding factor in the making of a true champion, but I think it’s pretty obvious that Sean Gannon is no Randy Couture. If UFC President Dana White has half a brain in his head, he’ll put Gannon’s two remaining fights on the undercards of “Ultimate Fight Night” shows, and try and put this whole disaster behind him.
