Many UFC and/or MMA legends often go under the radar as unsung heroes of the sport. Imagine being one of the pioneers of the sport and still being underrated to a degree that your name isn’t brought up when discussing legends of the game. One of those heroes was Mark Kerr, who was one of the earliest wrestling-heavy fighters to ever grace the Octagon. Breaking barriers in the UFC, PRIDE FC, and Vale Tudo, the former 2-time UFC tournament winner was one of the most feared ground-and-pound masters of all time. However, that peak faded away when Kerr struggled with addiction to painkillers and other substances.

However, the former NCAA Division I champion will be getting his well-deserved mainstream recognition soon, as Dwayne Johnson will be portraying him in a biopic named ‘The Smashing Machine’, which is scheduled to release in theatres on October 3. In just a couple of days since the trailer of ‘The Smashing Machine’ was dropped, it has garnered almost four million views, making fans excited about the movie.

Dwayne Johnson, who’s primarily known for starring in big-time action flicks, decided to take a serious acting route, and it seems like fans are paying attention. “I had been wanting for years now to chase the challenge,” said ‘The Rock’ when he explained the reason behind his decision to portray Mark Kerr. But the fans aren’t the only ones who seem excited about ‘The Rock’s movie about the MMA legend.

UFC Hall of Famer Daniel Cormier also seems fixated on watching the movie when it hits the theatres. During a recent confessional video on Instagram, ‘DC’ revealed that there were plans for him to “train with him [Johnson] last year, but the schedules didn’t work.” But the important part of the video was that Cormier had nothing but positive words for Johnson’s portrayal of Mark Kerr, and was taken aback by how similar the former WWE champion looked to Kerr.

“First off, he looks just like Mark Kerr. But more importantly, the movement and the commitment to learning the craft, learning the fighting, learning the wrestling, and looking like Mark, especially in that short clip, it was tremendous,” said Daniel Cormier. Moreover, the Hall of Famer was also happy to see a legend like Kerr getting his due recognition since, according to ‘DC’, he was one of those fighters who paved the way for other wrestlers to build their careers in MMA.

“Now, for me, I look forward to wrestlers being honored. And that’s what I felt like happened for Mark Kerr because there is no Daniel Cormier, Ben Askren, Bo Nickal, Randy Couture without guys like Mark Kerr, Mark Coleman, Don Frye, Dan Severn,” Cormier added. “All those guys, Kevin Randleman, those guys were the ones that showed us that mixed martial arts was an option. And I’m just happy that The Rock has done what he has done to bring awareness to a guy in Mark Kerr who meant so much to the wrestling community, especially in fighting.”

It didn’t take Johnson much time to issue a response to Cormier. While he was thankful to ‘DC’ for his kind words, ‘The Rock’ appeared a bit emotional when he felt ‘humbled’ to have been able to work in a movie like ‘The Smashing Machine’. “Love and appreciate you and your words, my brother. My privilege to become Mark Kerr and pay homage to him, Mark Coleman, and the OG’s of UFC/PRIDE/MMA. This opportunity to tell this story is very humbling,” Johnson commented on Cormier’s post.

Well, Dwayne Johnson’s movie, which is about a combat sports icon, has some other top athletes in it as well. In fact, former undisputed heavyweight boxing champion Oleksandr Usyk will also be featured in the movie as one of Mark Kerr’s rivals, who handed him an upset back in the day. Let’s take a look at that front.

Oleksandr Usyk to star in Dwayne Johnson’s movie on Mark Kerr

Yes, boxing star Oleksandr Usyk will appear in ‘The Smashing Machine’, alongside Dwayne Johnson, and guess what? He’s kind of an antagonist in the movie. The Ukrainian star is going to don the role of one of Mark Kerr’s ex-rivals, who handed him an upset loss back in 2000 when he was fighting under the PRIDE FC banner. The character in question is Igor Vovchanchyn, who’s also Ukrainian like Usyk, possessing an outstanding 56 wins at the expense of 10 losses in his MMA career.

Before Kerr lost to Vovchanchyn when they fought each other, the 56-year-old legend was on a roll with an undefeated record. However, when they first met in 1999, their fight ended in a no-contest due to illegal knee strikes from the Ukrainian. However, initially, the bout was deemed a TKO victory for Vovchanchyn. When they butted heads in a rematch, Kerr would suffer his second professional loss via decision.

Nevertheless, Mark Kerr had already made his mark before losing to the Ukrainian veteran. During his time in the UFC, the 56-year-old would win the heavyweight tournament twice, once at UFC 14 and once at UFC 15. But in the latter stages of his career, Kerr would rack up losses after losses, leading him to eventually bow out of the sport in 2009.

Are you excited to watch Dwayne Johnson’s portrayal of ‘The Smashing Machine’ when it hits the theatres? Let us know in the comments down below.