Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson dropped a big announcement in the lead up to him presenting the BMF belt to the winner of Masvidal vs. Diaz at UFC 244: he’s set to produce and star in a movie about former UFC star Mark Kerr.
“I’m proud to say that myself and Seven Bucks Productions are going to make a film about the life of one of your founding fathers, the pioneering founding fathers, ‘The Smashing Machine’ Mark Kerr,” Johnson announced at a UFC 244 press conference.
“I think what’s interesting about Mark Kerr’s story is, yes, he achieved so much in his life, he was a Smashing Machine, undefeated for a long time,” Johnson explained. “But also like all of us and like a lot of these fighters, he battled these demons. These demons of addiction, these demons of mental health, these demons of getting out and the pressure of fighting in front of 20, 30, 40, 50,000 people and what that does to somebody.
“So here’s a guy who has gone through it all and hit rock bottom, but the best part about Mark Kerr, like all of us in this room — and like these fighters by the way, all these warriors — everyday you get up, and you want to do a little bit better tomorrow than you did today.”
Kerr was a pioneer in the early days of MMA. A former NCAA Division I wrestler, Kerr won three MMA tournaments in his first year, including the UFC 14 and UFC 15 heavyweight tournaments. Between 1997 and 2000 he racked up an impressive 13-1-1 NC record. The latter days of his career were overshadowed by a battle with addiction and other issues. His career ended with M-1 Global in 2009 after 5 straight losses.
