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It all began with a mutual respectful nod between two powerful figures at a Santa Monica Gold’s Gym in the summer of 1997. One-time Olympic wrestling hopeful Mark Kerr was training for his first Ultimate Fighting Championship bout, after his commanding performance in a three-fight, one-night tournament in Brazil just two months prior. Dwayne “Rocky Maivia” Johnson, a ex- NFL prospect benched with a knee injury suffered during his second year with the WWE, approached him.

“Can I take you to lunch?” Johnson asked Kerr, who consented to meet at the Firehouse restaurant in Santa Monica. Their conversation naturally drifted to mixed martial arts, as Johnson bombarded the collegiate wrestling titleholder with specific questions about the unregulated sport. Mixed martial arts was growing in popularity in Japan, where several promotions hired pro wrestlers for hybrid fights.

“How’s this organization to work for? Are the payments reliable and timely? How’s the work schedule? I sensed from his questions that he was deeply considering his options,” said Kerr, age 29 at the time. “I questioned him why he’d leave the WWE, which seemed much more of a secure choice than competing. When he informed me he was losing money on the road, traveling 250 days a year for $150,000, I got it.”

The pair exchanged numbers and parted ways, two ships passing in the night. Kerr moved from the UFC to Japan’s Pride Fighting Championships the next year for earnings topping $200,000, while the babyface “Maivia” went back to the WWE and turned heel, thanks to Vince McMahon. “The Rock” emerged soon after and the attention-grabbing Johnson’s career rapidly fell into line.

The Rise and Fall of a Champion

Between 1997 and 2000, Kerr was the No 1 MMA heavyweight in the world. His record climbed to 11-0, but it was a hectic pace few competitors could keep up for long. Kerr was no stranger to drugs; a trainer had introduced him to steroids in his initial fights. Now, Kerr needed pain management from decades of cumulative pain to enhance his endurance for Pride’s grueling 10-minute rounds. Kerr had torn cartilage in his ribcage that caused discomfort with him with every breath.

“There was always an abundance of doctors [in Arizona] who’d provide me opioids,” Kerr remarked, “and if one refused, I’d just find the next.”

Kerr was addicted to Vicodin in a few months, a missed dose creating anxiety, abdominal pain and fatigue. Being no novice to intravenous drugging, taking tablets quickly evolved into injecting liquid straight into his veins. Kerr hid his Nubain and morphine bottle in the guest bathroom away from his girlfriend, Dawn. He shot up every morning, sometimes waking hours later collapsed against the toilet when he’d overmedicated.

Mark Kerr, right, battles Moti Horenstein during UFC 14 at Boutwell Auditorium in Birmingham, Alabama, on 27 July 1997.

A camera crew captured this phase on film, which became the 2002 documentary The Smashing Machine. By then, Kerr’s MMA career was over. When he met Johnson a second time in 2003, it was a reversal of fortune. “The Rock”, having been put over by Hulk Hogan at Wrestlemania XVIII the year prior, was a bona fide superstar with two movies under his belt. Johnson raved to Kerr about the documentary, as the MMA fighter fretted over his decision to reveal his troubled side. Kerr hadn’t been offered a fight in over two years. He was not an intravenous user, but alcoholism had become Kerr’s constant struggle; he could consume four bottles of red wine in one sitting. By the time another Pride offer arrived, Kerr was nowhere near fighting shape. On the sport’s biggest stage, he lost consciousness seconds into the contest with, ironically, an poorly executed takedown that sent his head driving into the canvas.

Life Challenges and New Beginnings

Kerr married Dawn and they had a son, Bryce, in 2004. Their marriage stayed combustible for years, as Kerr balanced drinking and the occasional personal-training job between fights. After his last defeat in 2009, Kerr had no choice but to retire. A tarnished former champion was of little value to fight promoters. Kerr switched to car salesman, but dreaded getting recognized by potential buyers.

“I could always tell when someone recognized me, even if they didn’t mention it,” commented Kerr. “They always got the same expression on their face, as if to say, ‘What happened to you?’”

Meanwhile, in 2009, Johnson secured yet another starring role in Return to Witch Mountain, his 11th film. Soon, Dwayne Johnson, without “the Rock,” would become a widely recognized figure.

As Johnson’s path ascended over the next decade, Kerr’s plummeted. There was job-hopping and three stints in rehab. Dawn divorced him, but their volatile relationship continued as they tried to raise together their son. Finally, it was the 14-year-old Bryce’s plea that halted Kerr’s downward spiral in September 2018.

“It was the yearly remembrance of my mother’s death and Bryce said he knew today was a tough day for me, but asked if I could quit drinking the day after,” explained Kerr. “How could I not listen?”

A Second Chance and Hollywood Interest

Kerr was 10 months clean when Brad Slater, Johnson’s longtime agent, rang about obtaining the MMA pioneer’s life rights. The call was completely out of the blue. Kerr and Johnson hadn’t communicated in 12 years, and Johnson, the movie star, now had more cache over the roles he selected. Johnson had never forgotten about Kerr’s documentary and privately had wished he’d get to play the rugged, yet vulnerable fighter.

Hiram Garcia, David Koplan, Mark Kerr, Dwayne Johnson, Benny Safdie, Emily Blunt and Andrea Romeo attend the red carpet of the movie The Smashing Machine at the Venice Film Festival in September.

Johnson revealed the film at a UFC press conference in September 2019. His Seven Bucks Productions would be leading the project, with filmmaker Benny Safdie its rudder. Safdie set to work converting the documentary into a screenplay, mining Kerr for extra scenes to flesh out Mark and Dawn’s relationship.

“When the pandemic struck in March 2020, I thought it was finished for the film,” said Kerr, who’d resigned himself to a peaceful Arizona life. “If it was meant to be, it would all fall into place.”

In sobriety, Kerr got back in touch with a gym friend named Franci. They began dating during the pandemic and would marry on New Year’s Eve 2023.

During the pandemic, Kerr didn’t hear a word from Johnson, Safdie or Seven Bucks, but at some point in the 57-day shoot for Oppenheimer, Safdie convinced co-star Emily Blunt to watch the documentary. Blunt, a longtime friend of Johnson’s, right away called her Jungle Cruise co-star, telling him the time was the moment to get the film done. Blunt signed on to play Kerr’s girlfriend, Dawn, and the fire was lit.

Kerr got another call from Slater in September 2023, but this time there was a starting date that spring. Kerr toured the Vancouver film set that April and filming began that May. According to Johnson’s request, Kerr didn’t visit the set during shooting.

“DJ had not portrayed a living person before and I respected that approach,” noted Kerr. “I’m glad I stayed away. When my son saw the film, he couldn’t fathom how DJ got down my [softer] speech and mannerisms. My very own child!”

Indeed, Johnson’s performance as Kerr is believable, especially for those that know the retired fighter. Johnson earned a 16-minute applause for the film at the Venice Film Festival, while the creative Safdie took home its prestigious director’s prize.

For the 56-year-old Kerr, it’s a second chance at notoriety, however fleeting that might be. Johnson has been insistent that Kerr be at his side for the majority of the film’s promotional tour.

“It’s remarkable that a seemingly minor decision I made years ago, to keep the [documentary] cameras filming while my life fell apart, evolved into all this,” expressed Kerr, who intends to write a book next. “I couldn’t be happier with how this all concluded and I can truthfully say that I’ve made friends for life from it.”