{"id":191280,"date":"2025-10-05T09:39:08","date_gmt":"2025-10-05T09:39:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/191280\/"},"modified":"2025-10-05T09:39:08","modified_gmt":"2025-10-05T09:39:08","slug":"who-is-mark-kerr-inside-the-career-and-family-of-mma-star-behind-the-smashing-machine-international-sports-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/191280\/","title":{"rendered":"Who is Mark Kerr? Inside the career and family of MMA star behind \u2018The Smashing Machine\u2019 | International Sports News"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"WhoWho is Mark Kerr? Inside the career and family of MMA star behind \u2018The Smashing Machine\u2019 (Image via Getty) Mark Kerr, a famous fighter from Ohio, is the man who inspired Dwayne \u201cThe Rock\u201d Johnson\u2019s new film The Smashing Machine. The movie, directed by Benny Safdie<\/a>, premiered at the Toronto Film Festival in September 2025. To play Kerr, Johnson spent three to four hours every day in makeup wearing about 13 prosthetics. \u201cI watched it all change. Subtle, yet very impactful,\u201d Johnson told Vanity Fair in August 2025. The actor said he lived as Kerr on set, copying his voice, walk, and even his pain. His performance has already sparked Oscar talk.<\/p>\n

Mark Kerr\u2019s rise in MMA and UFC Hall of Fame<\/p>\n

Mark Kerr first wrestled in high school and college before joining MMA. In 1997, he made his debut at the World Vale Tudo Championship 3 in Brazil. After beating three fighters in one night, local media called him \u201cThe Smashing Machine.\u201d That name stayed with him for the rest of his career.Later that year, he entered the UFC and won two heavyweight tournaments. Kerr fought professionally until 2009, finishing with a record of 15 wins and 11 losses. His biggest honor came in June 2025, when he was inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame in Las Vegas. Johnson himself handed him the award. Kerr told the crowd, \u201cI never imagined this moment, but I\u2019m grateful to stand here today.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mark Kerr\u2019s past with Dawn Staples and family life<\/p>\n

Kerr married Dawn Staples, a former Playboy model and real estate investor, in 2000. They had one son, Bryce, before splitting in 2006. Actress Emily Blunt plays Staples in the new film. Staples also attended the Toronto premiere in September 2025 and posted photos on Instagram with Johnson and director Benny Safdie.Also Read: Who is Oceane Dodin? French tennis player making headlines for breast implants surgery despite career warnings <\/a>Kerr later admitted drugs and alcohol played a big role in the breakup. \u201cThe only thing important at the time was me fighting, then came the drugs,\u201d Kerr told Time Magazine in September 2025. He said he often relied on Vicodin for injuries.<\/p>\n

Mark Kerr\u2019s recovery and life today<\/p>\n

In 2016, Kerr revealed he was battling peripheral neuropathy, a nerve condition that causes pain and weakness, according to the Mayo Clinic. By then, he had already started his journey to sobriety. In a YouTube video from 2019, Kerr said, \u201cIt took my son asking me to stop drinking for me to finally change.\u201dToday, Mark Kerr is married to Franci Alberding, whom he wed in 2023. Together, they run Absolute Wellness, a company that offers fitness, meditation, and recovery programs. Mark Kerr has now been sober for more than seven years and focuses on helping others build healthier lives.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Who is Mark Kerr? Inside the career and family of MMA star behind \u2018The Smashing Machine\u2019 (Image via…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":191281,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[570],"tags":[121131,64,63,19758,72275,786,72276,785,116140,121130,85,72277,5775],"class_list":["post-191280","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-mma","tag-absolute-wellness","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-benny-safdie","tag-dwayne-the-rock-johnson","tag-fighting","tag-mark-kerr","tag-mma","tag-mma-star","tag-recovery-programs","tag-sports","tag-the-smashing-machine","tag-ufc-hall-of-fame"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/191280","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=191280"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/191280\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/191281"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=191280"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=191280"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=191280"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}