“The Smashing Machine” Mark Kerr has been named to the 2025 class for the UFC Hall of Fame.
Kerr, a two-time UFC heavyweight tournament winner, will be the 21st member of the Pioneer Era wing and is set to be inducted June 26 by Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, who will portray Kerr in the “The Smashing Machine” movie that is set to premiere Oct. 3.
The announcement was made during UFC 316 on Saturday night in Newark, N.J.
“Mark Kerr was a high-level wrestler who also fought for PRIDE and was one of the early pioneers of the sport,” UFC president and CEO Dana White said.
After a successful collegiate wrestling career at Syracuse, where he won an NCAA Division I title in 1992, Kerr missed out on the 1996 Olympics and turned to mixed martial arts. He made his professional MMA debut on Jan. 19, 1997, at the World Vale Tudo Championships and won before heading to the UFC.
Kerr won the UFC heavyweight tournament twice in 1997, with each of his four wins coming by finish. He is one of five fighters to win multiple UFC tournaments, joining Hall of Famers Royce Gracie, Mark Coleman, Dan Severn and Don Frye.
Kerr also competed in Pride and other international MMA organizations, going 15-11 in his career before retiring in 2009.
