The Smashing Machine Trailer Unleashes Dwayne Johnson as MMA Legend Mark Kerr

Dwayne Johnson transforms into UFC legend Mark Kerr in Benny Safdie’s The Smashing Machine.

Longtime HMU readers know our roots run deep in the fight game. We didn’t just report on MMA—we helped shape the early conversation through our podcast Submissions and Slashers. And if that wasn’t enough, our founder Travis Brown currently serves as mobility coach to UFC welterweight contender Joaquin Buckley. So you can imagine our excitement when the trailer dropped for The Smashing Machine, a long-rumored A24 biopic about legendary fighter Mark Kerr.

Directed by Benny Safdie and starring Dwayne Johnson in what might be his most transformative role yet, The Smashing Machine dives into the brutal, beautiful, and complicated world of Kerr—the muscle-bound icon whose raw story still echoes through gyms and cages today. Also starring Emily Blunt, Ryan Bader, Bas Rutten, and Oleksandr Usyk, the film hits theaters October 3.

Watch the trailer for The Smashing Machine below and prepare for a fight story that hits way harder than expected.

The story of legendary mixed martial arts & UFC fighter Mark Kerr.

STARRING

Dwayne Johnson, Emily Blunt, Ryan Bader, Bas Rutten, Oleksandr Usyk

WRITTEN AND DIRECTED BY

Benny Safdie