“Not all has been told,” Chael Sonnen believes Dwayne Johnson’s MMA film has an uphill task to “come clean” about forgotten MMA history

Dwayne Johnson plays Mark Kerr in the upcoming Benny Safdie film The Smashing Machine.

“Not all has been told,” Chael Sonnen believes Dwayne Johnson’s MMA film has an uphill task to “come clean” about forgotten MMA history

Chael Sonnen weighs in on Dwayne Johnson's new MMA film (Source: Instagram/IMAGO)

Valentina Shevchenko could do it against Halley Berry in a film. Georges St-Pierre could go up against “Captain America,” and Kamaru Usman could say “Wakanda Forever.” Recently, Conor McGregor has shone the brightest in Road House. Therefore, logic dictates Dwayne ‘the Rock’ Johnson could definitely portray an MMA role as a more pronounced presence. But should he? Chael Sonnen became the first MMA personality to think in depth about Johnson’s next project.

Dwayne Johnson portrays Mark Kerr in the upcoming Benny Safdie film The Smashing Machine. A24’s Noah Sacco revealed the news recently to The Hollywood Reporter and Variety. Two-time UFC Heavyweight Tournament Champ Kerr was quite the sensational wrestler. However, the 15-11-0 mixed martial artist didn’t have a smooth enough run. Chael Sonnen thus thinks there’s much to cover.

Mark Kerr takes his focus off of wrestling and puts it onto MMA…Now, at that time it was still called 'No Holds Barred'…[called] 'Cage Fighting'…Kerr got grabbed up and got he got pulled in by people where, their answer for what do I have to do to, coach - anabolic steroids…Kerr wanted to be good, wanted to be great even...and it got marked into a very tough spot, began to hurt his body...I hope 'The Rock' understands not all of it has been told to us...[it] actually created more questions than it answered.
Chael Sonnen via YouTube
YouTube video

Sports Illustrated once covered a full spread on the cautionary PED usage tales that marked Kerr’s end. He had said that prescription narcotics, along with unfiltered steroid abuse, had left him astray on a “sloppy existence.” Kerr is a 4-fight UFC veteran and featured on historic shows such as UFC 14: Showdown, UFC 15: Collision Course, PRIDE FC, and ADCC World Championships.

FS Video

He last fought at M-1: Breakthrough in 2009, on a five-fight losing streak. The Olympian-deviant gave rise to names like Mark ‘The Hammer’ Coleman and Kurt Angle, shifting from wrestling to MMA. His controversial run as a whopping 190lber could have mattered more, but his exit gave rise to names like Randy Couture yet again. His short run has had deep impacts on MMA. Hence, Sonnen thinks this will be a challenging story to tell.

Chael Sonnen details the lowkey reception when Dwayne Johnson first pitched the films to MMA fans

Dwayne Johnson has been a prolific sports entertainment entity and quite a brand of his own. He recently joined the TKO Holdings Board of Directors, marking the monumental UFC-WWE merger. Starting as a professional entertainment wrestler, Johnson later forayed into Hollywood as one of its most successful names ever. Now, the professional wrestler will star in a close-to-home MMA role, bending from his usual comical or action flick roles.

Chael Sonnen thinks Dwayne Johnson's portrayal doesn't incite much excitement
Chael Sonnen thinks Dwayne Johnson’s portrayal doesn’t incite much excitement (Source: Instagram/ew.com)

After much to-and-fro, Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson finally received the go-ahead to portray UFC heavyweight Mark Kerr from the upper brass. However, as it turns out, this wasn’t his first pitch for such a role. Chael Sonnen was in attendance when he announced it in front of a live audience for the very first time back in 2019.

I was at Madison Square Garden…Kelvin Gastelum fought and lost to Darren Till… 'The Rock' takes the stage…This is just Media Day…you have the hardcore attentive MMA audience. So, 'The Rock' laid out this idea and he says I'm bringing this to Hollywood...bringing you guys story...and I have found the one guy you wanna hear about the most... I'm going to make a movie on 'The Smashing Machine'...'The Rock' was expecting something, he paused...he was expecting something and it never came.
Chael Sonnen via his “Beyond The Fight” Podcast

Johnson is infamous for his electric build-ups and speeches. There’s a reason his walkout theme is called “The Electrifying Theme.” However, the people’s champ had failed to capture the MMA audience’s excitement about his choice of Mark Kerr. Chael Sonnen notes a dead-drop silence that followed. He says Kerr is an old-school MMA convert.

In all probability, the Syracuse University wrestling alum is even forgotten on his home turf. Added to that is the fact he had a checkered run in MMA. Hence, ‘Bad Guy’ Sonnen is the bearer of bad news and says this project might have fewer positive repercussions than projected.

In case you missed it: