Mark Kerr is a retired American wrestler and mixed martial artist known for his stint in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). His nickname, “The Smashing Machine,” reportedly derived from his aggressive, “no-nonsense” in-ring fighting style. Fans of combat sports consider him one of the greatest of all time.
Kerr twice won the UFC Heavyweight Tournament Champion and World Vale Tudo Championship tournament and showcased his talent in the now-defunct Pride FC. As a collegiate wrestler, he was an NCAA Division I champion and bagged several medals in freestyle wrestling. Furthermore, he was a skilled submission wrestler who won the ADCC World Championship four times. Kerr started his MMA career with flying colors.
However, in the 2000s, he began facing continuous losses. His final MMA bout was against Muhammed Lawal, which he lost by TKO in under 30 seconds. This fight took place at M-1 Global: Breakthrough in Kansas City, Kansas, United States, on August 28, 2009. After the year 2000, he fought 15 times. However, he could only register four wins.
Mark Kerr’s life and career will be the subject of the upcoming biographical sports drama film The Smashing Machine, in which Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson will portray him. Recently, Johnson’s first look as the fighter appeared on social media, and several fans stated that the actor was unrecognizable. Reports suggest that this A24 film will be released later this year.
The 2002 documentary The Smashing Machine also narrated his story in an interpersonal way. According to IMDb, its synopsis reads, “This is a documentary that follows M.M.A. great Mark Kerr, and his string of amazing victories in the ring.”
A closer look at Mark Kerr’s entire MMA career
Mark Kerr made his MMA debut at WVC 3 against the then-popular UFC fighter Paul Varelans. He emerged victorious in this contest and went undefeated until he faced Kazuyuki Fujita in the year 2000. Throughout his professional career, he fought in 27 matches and registered 15 wins and 11 losses. One of his matches (against Igor Vovchanchyn) ended in a no-contest.
As per Sherdog, below is his entire MMA win record:
- January 19, 1997 – faced Paul Varelans and won by TKO in the first round (Brazil)
- January 19, 1997 – faced Mestre Hulk and won by DQ in the first round (Brazil)
- January 19, 1997 – faced Fabio Gurgel and won by unanimous decision (Brazil)
- July 27, 1997 – faced Moti Horenstein and won by TKO (Birmingham, Alabama, United States)
- July 27, 1997 – faced Dan Bobish and won by submission (Birmingham, Alabama, United States)
- October 17, 1997 – faced Greg Stott and won by KO (Bay St. Louis, Mississippi, United States)
- October 17, 1997 – faced Dwayne Cason and won by submission (Bay St. Louis, Mississippi, United States)
- March 15, 1998 – faced Branko Cikatic and won by DQ (Yokohama, Kanagawa, Japan)
- June 24, 1998 – faced Pedro Otavio and won by technical submission (Tokyo, Japan)
- October 11, 1998 – faced Hugo Duarte and won by TKO (Tokyo, Japan)
- July 4, 1999 – faced Nobuhiko Takada and won by submission (Yokohama, Kanagawa, Japan)
- January 30, 2000 – faced Enson Inoue and won by majority decision (Tokyo, Japan)
- August 27, 2000 – faced Igor Borisov and won by submission (Tokorozawa, Saitama, Japan)
- November 7, 2007 – faced Steve Gavin and won by submission (Hollywood, California, United States)
- March 29, 2008 – faced Chuck Huus and won by submission (Newkirk, Oklahoma, United States)
Mark Kerr is currently 55 years old. According to his Facebook profile, he is in a relationship with Franci Alberding.
