Dwayne Johnson’s Look for ‘The Smashing Machine’ Receives One Line Approval From Mark Kerr’s UFC Training Partner

Dwayne Johnson may already have one foot in for an Oscar, or at least that’s what fans will have you believe. The transformation that ‘The Rock’ underwent for his new movie may not be as extreme as Christian Bale’s transformation for ‘The Machinist’, but the WWE star is still almost unrecognizable.

His new movie follows the life story of former UFC fighter and legend Mark Kerr, his legendary rise, and battle with injuries and consequent substance abuse. Another integral part of not just his life story, but also the movie, is his relationship with Mark Coleman.

Coleman was the UFC’s first heavyweight champion, but their paths first intertwined during their college wrestling days. And although they never fought inside the Octagon, the pair would continue to train together in a gym they ran together.

Naturally, after A24 announced the biopic, Coleman worked closely with the directors and ‘The Rock’ to provide vital insights into what made Kerr ‘The Smashing Machine’. But despite being a part of the process, he still can not believe how well Johnson pulled off his transformation.

He shared a reel on his Instagram story that praised ‘The Rock’s’ transformation and reacted to it with a number of emojis, just expressing how shocked he was.

 

Notably, Coleman isn’t the only one of Kerr’s teammates to have praised Johnson for the effort he’s put in to embody the MMA legend. Earlier, UFC legend and one of Kerr’s trainers, Bas Rutten, who plays himself in the film, had also gushed over Johnson’s impressive transformation.

“You got to watch his shoulders. He’s got the Kerr shoulders, dude,” Rutten told Serra “Oh, yeah. They really worked on that. Like freaking bang… And I go like, ‘Dude, it got me goosebumps.’ I go, ‘He really looks like Mark Kerr’. It’s crazy,” he added.

Meanwhile, Coleman, who shares a similar tale of addiction and recovery to Kerr, has also found himself being thanked by Johnson for the input he’s put in and the value he’s added to make the film.

Coleman hanging out with Jiri amid Rock praise

“My brother, making this film about your lives has been the privilege of a lifetime. Worth every muscle tear. Truth is if I had to do it all over again, I’d do it twice. Thank you, brother to you, Kerr, Frye, Severn, Randleman, Goodridge, Shamrock – just to name a few,” Johnson said.

The promotion of the film is now in full swing, with combat sports athletes like Rutten and Coleman talking about the film at every opportunity they find.

But promoting the new movie is not all that Coleman has been doing, though.

Coleman recently found himself in Tokyo, Japan, for the Rizin Grand Prix. The event comes just 25 years after the Pride Grand Prix, another event he was a part of.

For the event, the American had to don the traditional sumo wrestling gear, Mawashi, and perform for the opening ceremony.

Notably, he was accompanied by another former UFC champion in Jiri Prochazka. Ahead of their event, the veteran even teased a potential sparring session with him at the hotel gym.

“Tokyo Japan dinner with the Champ @jirkaprochazka we will be training together in the morning lite spar and the boss of Pride and now Rizen Sak San.” 

Although they didn’t end up sparring, the thought of it had UFC fans in tatters.

Instead, they opted to take part in a quick strength training workout at the gym. Coleman even acted as Prochazka’s spotter as he repped some barbell squats.

But the Polish fighter will feel slightly betrayed by Coleman, who later posted photos with Alex Pereira and even predicted that the Brazilian will be champ once again.