00:00It's simple.
00:01Am I going to hurt him before he hurts me?
00:04Welcome to WatchMojo… and today, we're looking at the details that the Smashing Machine got
00:09factually right… and wrong about Mark Kerr's life.
00:12There will naturally be some spoilers.
00:14At the end of this whole run here, I was left holding absolutely nothing.
00:21Number 10.
00:22Ultimate Fighting Controversy… right!
00:25Many of the scenes in Benny Safdie's film Mirror Moments captured in the 2002 documentary
00:29also titled The Smashing Machine.
00:32One example occurs in a waiting room as Mark Kerr tells a woman about the Ultimate Fighting
00:36Championship.
00:37Well, have you ever heard of the Ultimate Fighting Championship, the UFC?
00:40She's familiar with it, noting that politicians are calling for the mixed martial arts organization
00:45to be banned.
00:46That's the bloody thing they're trying to ban.
00:48Although Kerr insists that the competition isn't as savage as critics make it sound,
00:53no holds barred fighting was banned in over 30 US states.
00:58This made it increasingly difficult for UFC to find a television audience.
01:02With UFC facing political pushback, Kerr was drawn to Japan's Pride Fighting Championships,
01:07which also offered more money.
01:09Ironically, UFC parent company Zuffa would acquire Pride almost a decade later.
01:15Do we hate each other, though?
01:16Oh, absolutely not.
01:17Absolutely not.
01:18Number 9.
01:20Kerr won his first professional MMA fight… right!
01:23The film opens up with Kerr's MMA debut as he faces off against Paul Verlinds at the
01:28World Veil Tudo Championship 3 in Brazil.
01:31Mark Kerr!
01:35By this point, Verlinds already had a few UFC victories under his belt, seemingly giving
01:40him an advantage over newcomer Kerr.
01:44The Smashing Machine, as Kerr came to be known, lived up to his nickname.
01:49Slamming Verlinds to the floor, Kerr pummeled his opponent with punches and knee strikes.
01:53The one-sided fight lasted roughly two minutes before the referee intervened, Kerr being the
01:58clear winner.
01:59Kerr went on to win his next two WVC fights against Mestre Hulk and Fabio Gergal, paving
02:06his way to UFC and later Pride FC.
02:09While he started strong, Kerr's undefeated status wouldn't last.
02:13Literally from that one tournament it catapulted me into the spotlight.
02:18Number 8.
02:19Who Kerr opened up to in the hospital… wrong.
02:22The Smashing Machine is accurate in its depiction of Kerr's reliance on pain medication and
02:27other substances.
02:29His substance use eventually landed him in the hospital, where he could have died from an
02:33overdose.
02:34Kerr could barely stay awake for more than 30 seconds, and even recalled saying Ronald
02:38Reagan was still president when the paramedic asked him questions.
02:41And he asked what president it was, and I know I said, like, Ronald Reagan.
02:46I swear I said…
02:47You're close.
02:48While this is all true, the scene makes a significant change.
02:52In the biopic, Mark Coleman visits Kerr in the hospital, helping him to see that he needs
02:57to make some serious changes.
02:59In the documentary, two other friends get real with Kerr.
03:02Some of them say that if Kerr doesn't seek help, he won't see the new year.
03:08You're not going to see the new year, man.
03:11You're not going to make it.
03:14And it hurts for me to say that to you.
03:16Fortunately, Kerr took their advice, entering rehab.
03:20Number 7.
03:21Kerr's Friendship with Mark Coleman
03:23Right.
03:24Although the hospital scene takes a liberty, Mark Coleman is indeed a good friend of Kerr's.
03:28We go way back, but he's a buddy of mine.
03:31The two started as competitors in college when Coleman was a senior and Kerr was a freshman.
03:36Coleman beat Kerr when they faced off in the NCAA National Championship, going on to win
03:41for his alma mater, Ohio State.
03:44Their paths crossed again when Richard Hamilton scouted them, which led to Coleman training
03:48with Kerr before his MMA debut.
03:50If there was ever a hint of rivalry between these two during the beginning, it dissipated
04:01as they rose up in the MMA world.
04:04Even when they participated in the same competition, like the Pride Grand Prix 2000, there was no
04:09animosity, with both being supportive of each other.
04:13He has come back from the brink.
04:15Let's see if he can pull out a victory over Mark Coleman.
04:18Number 6.
04:19Dawn Staples was sober during this time frame.
04:22Wrong.
04:23His girlfriend-turned-wife-turned-ex-wife Dawn Staples did play an integral role in helping
04:29Kerr realize that he had an issue with painkillers.
04:32Kerr wasn't the only one in the relationship with substance use disorder, however.
04:36Always about you.
04:38Only about fucking you.
04:40While Staples was sober for a period, she eventually found herself drinking at lunch,
04:44then happy hour, and at night.
04:46Staples promised Kerr that if he went to rehab, she wouldn't drink around him when he got out.
04:51She didn't fulfill that promise.
04:52It's been a second all-night thing.
04:55While the film shows Staples grappling with her mental health, it wasn't made clear that
04:59alcohol is a major factor in her spiral.
05:01Kerr also struggled with alcohol, although he stated in 2025,
05:05I've been sober for seven years now.
05:10My sponsor's pretty insistent about me getting away from Dawn because she's still drinking.
05:14Number 5.
05:15Kerr gave Boz Rutten a painkiller.
05:17Right.
05:18Looking to make a comeback at Pride 2000, Kerr enlists former mixed martial artist Boz Rutten,
05:24who plays himself in the film.
05:29Rutten shifted focus to coaching and other ventures as medical issues kept him out of the
05:34ring.
05:35Most notably, Rutten experienced tendonitis, which caused unbearable pain in his arms that
05:40could last almost two hours.
05:42While training Kerr in the movie, his pain suddenly hits Rutten like a pile of bricks.
05:47Kerr is quick to remember an old pain medication he neglected to throw away, injecting it into
05:52Rutten.
05:53A weight is lifted off of Rutten, who now realizes why Kerr got so sweaty.
05:57Rutten recalled this ordeal in an interview, saying that Kerr gave him new bane that turned
06:01him into a plant.
06:03I mean, I was like a freaking plant.
06:05He says, now you get used to that.
06:07Number 4.
06:08The no contest fight.
06:09Right.
06:10Oh my goodness!
06:11Kerr is out!
06:12Although he lost a few fights before his MMA career took off, Kerr enjoyed a winning
06:17streak upon going pro.
06:19Between his WVC debut and Pride 6, Kerr won 11 fights in a row.
06:23His spotless record was called into question at Pride 7 in 1999, when he competed against
06:29Igor Vovchanchin.
06:31In a fight that lasted just under five minutes, Vovchanchin overpowered Kerr, initially being
06:36deemed the winner.
06:41As Kerr pointed out, Vovchanchin used an illegal move with his knees.
06:45The higher-ups agreed that Vovchanchin broke the rules, overturning the fight to a no-contest.
06:57This meant that Kerr was still technically undefeated.
07:00It wasn't a victory, either.
07:02It was a sign that Kerr wasn't invincible, marking a turning point in his professional
07:06career.
07:07Just gonna call it a no-contest.
07:11But Kerr wasn't seen as an enabler.
07:14Wrong.
07:15I don't recommend people bringing their wives or girlfriends to the fights because you need
07:21to be extremely focused.
07:24While the Smashing Machine doesn't shy away from their relationship hurdles, it does tiptoe
07:28around some of the toxicity that Staples arguably brought to the mix.
07:32Very close to the couple, most notably Boz Rutten, felt Kerr needed to distance himself
07:37from Staples.
07:38Rutten went as far as to say that Kerr's biggest downfall was his wife, calling him
07:43an idiot when he got back together with her.
07:45Observations like this are largely omitted from the movie.
07:57Emily Blunt's portrayal is less critical of Staples, putting more emphasis on Kerr's
08:02shortcomings as a partner.
08:03Although we see how the relationship is taking an emotional toll on her, the film avoids tackling
08:08how Staples' actions, namely her frequent drinking, might have stalled Kerr's own road
08:13to recovery.
08:14Some days we laugh and everything's fine, and then I don't know what happens those other
08:19days.
08:20Number 2.
08:21The Gun Incident.
08:22Right.
08:23Where did you run into him last night?
08:25I've never met him.
08:27Even if the Smashing Machine could have fleshed out Staples a little more, it does confront
08:31one of the darkest chapters in her relationship with Kerr.
08:34Their most intense fight escalates as Staples goes for Kerr's handgun, turning it on herself.
08:40It thankfully isn't loaded, but Staples proceeds to lock herself in the bathroom, searching
09:00for razors.
09:01Kerr breaks through the door before Staples can make a life-ending mistake, calling the
09:05authorities.
09:06In the documentary, Kerr recounted this incident, his description essentially matching what we
09:11see in this dramatization.
09:13While the couple reconciled and tied the knot shortly after, the marriage didn't last.
09:18As the film depicts, there was a distance that the two could never overcome, despite their
09:23best efforts.
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09:43Number 1 Kerr's Big Loss Right, the Smashing Machine is more about
09:49failure than triumph.
09:50This is reflected in the climax, as Kerr makes it to Pride Grand Prix 2000.
09:55Kerr endured his opening round against Ensign Inoue, leading many to wonder if it'd come
09:59down to him and Mark Coleman.
10:01It ultimately didn't pan out like this.
10:04Kerr lost his next fight against Kazuyuki Fujita, marking his first official loss of his
10:09pro career.
10:13Although Coleman was set to face him in the semifinals, Fujita quickly backed out due
10:18to injuries from his fight with Kerr.
10:20He's not coming next round.
10:26This paved the way for Coleman to take down Igor Vovchanchin in the finals.
10:30Meanwhile, Kerr got stitches, but he still voiced his support for Coleman, demonstrating
10:35that sportsmanship is more valuable than winning.
10:42What did you think of the Smashing Machine?
10:44Let us know in the comments!
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