Top 10 Things the Smashing Machine Gets Factually Right and Wrong

WatchMojo

Fact vs. fiction in Benny Safdie's MMA drama! Join us as we examine what the film got right and wrong about Mark Kerr's tumultuous career and personal struggles. Our countdown includes Kerr's fight history, his friendship with Mark Coleman, substance abuse battles, and the controversial relationship with Dawn Staples that played a pivotal role in his downfall.

Transcript

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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