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The Guardian - US
The Guardian - US
Sport
Loretta Hunt

From cage to screen: The Smashing Machine and Mark Kerr’s second act with The Rock

Mark Kerr Dwayne Johnson The Rock Benny Safdie Dawn MMA Bryce Emily Blunt DJ WWE
Former MMA fighter Mark Kerr, left, and Dwayne Johnson attend the photocall of the movie The Smashing Machine at the 82nd International Venice Film Festival in September.
Former MMA fighter Mark Kerr, left, and Dwayne Johnson attend the photocall of the movie The Smashing Machine at the 82nd International Venice Film Festival in September. Photograph: Tiziana Fabi/AFP/Getty Images

It started with an affirming nod of heads between two tough guys at a Santa Monica Gold’s Gym in the summer of 1997. One-time Olympic wrestling contender Mark Kerr was training for his first Ultimate Fighting Championship fight, having dominated in a three-fight, one-night tournament in Brazil two months earlier. Dwayne “Rocky Maivia” Johnson, a former NFL prospect sidelined with a knee injury suffered during his second year with the WWE, approached him.

“Can I take you to lunch?” Johnson asked Kerr, who obliged him at the Firehouse restaurant in Santa Monica. The conversation inevitably drifted to mixed martial arts, as Johnson peppered the 1992 NCAA champion with pointed questions about the unregulated sport. MMA was gaining popularity in Japan, where multiple promotions hired pro wrestlers for “crossover” fights.

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