Mark Kerr earned his opportunity in the UFC after dominating the MMA scene in Brazil, showcasing his sheer power and destruction.
This coming October, a new movie starring Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson hits the Hollywood screens as the world-famous actor plays Mark Kerr in ‘The Smashing Machine’.
Earlier this week, a new trailer for the film dropped, which has fans extremely excited for the premiere later this year.
Kerr was an incredibly accomplished wrestler and grappler before being granted an opportunity in the UFC, and before that, he had an incredible run of scoring first round finishes.
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Mark Kerr made fighter crawl out of ring during beatdown
After such a successful collegiate wrestling career, Kerr made the transition to MMA after his teammate, Mark Coleman also moved to the sport.
When Coleman went on to become the first heavyweight champion in UFC history, Kerr knew that he could also find similar success in the promotion.
Despite that, he had to earn his shot in the premier promotion, and he did so by dominating the MMA scene in Brazil.
However, his MMA debut didn’t go as easily as he might’ve hoped as he was forced into the fight by his manager at the time, Richard Hamilton, after Kerr doubted if he was cut out for MMA.
Fortunately, the dominant wrestler went on to make his debut at World Vale Tudo Championship 3 against UFC veteran Paul Varelans and subsequently won the fight via first round stoppage.
But it was his next fight against Mestre Hulk that made Kerr so feared. Hulk was a Brazilian capoeira specialist and was a police teacher as well as his MMA career.
Early on in the fight Hulk looked to showcase his spinning attacks, but Kerr caught his leg within one minute of the fight and took the Brazilian down to the mat.
‘The Smashing Machine’ began manhandling Hulk and punching his ribs, which at the time fighters didn’t wear gloves, as Hulk looked to be giving up.
Hulk began shuffling his body closer and closer to the ring edge as Kerr continued reigning down huge shots to the face, subsequently knocking Hulk’s teeth out. The Brazilian quickly slid under the ropes and was subsequently disqualified from the fight.
Kerr went on to earn a UFC contract fighting with a broken hand
With the World Vale Tudo Championship’s being a one-night tournament, Kerr advanced to the final, which he fought with a broken hand after his domination over Hulk.
Despite having broken his hand, Kerr went on to beat Fabio Gurgel via unanimous decision in the final, earning his shot in the UFC just a few months later.