Warning: Spoilers ahead for The Smashing MachineA24’s biographical sports drama The Smashing Machine is a mostly accurate retelling of the height of pioneering UFC fighter Mark Kerr’s career, but there are some key details that were changed or are absent from the main narrative. Starring Dwayne Johnson and Emily Blunt as Kerr and his girlfriend Dawn Staples, The Smashing Machine is already drawing Oscar buzz for both.

The movie chronicles a three-year span of Mark Kerr’s professional combat sports career, from 1997-2000, and focuses specifically on his UFC career. Kerr was a collegiate champion and amateur wrestler before he turned to mixed martial arts, and he swiftly became one of the biggest names in the popular UFC and Pride promotions during the days when MMA was still banned in some places due to the extreme violence.

Like all dramatic biopics, certain elements of Kerr’s experiences were adjusted and exaggerated slightly for the sake of making the movie more cinematic and engaging. However, The Smashing Machine stays true to reality more often than not, making the details that they do change from the real narrative worth exploring.

6

Dawn Never Smashed A Vase, She Destroyed A Robe

One of the most important elements of the overarching narrative of The Smashing Machine is Mark’s volatile relationship with his girlfriend Dawn. They vacillate between being supportive and affectionate versus cold and at times downright nasty to each other. It’s an important part of understanding how Mark’s unending pursuit of success, combined with his addiction to painkillers, impacted those around him.

In the course of their most explosive fight, Dawn shatters a handcrafted vase that Mark had previously brought back from Japan as a gift for her. In reality, it was a robe that Mark had brought back from Japan that Dawn destroyed, but the simple, visceral motion of destroying a vase versus cutting up a robe works better on screen.

It also provides a nice moment later in the movie where Dawn presents Mark with the fixed vase, which she glued back together. It acts as an overt metaphor for her attempt at making things right, and again it works better for the moment than a resтιтched robe would have.

5

Kerr Was A World Champion Submission Wrestler During The Events Of The Movie

The Smashing Machine wisely focuses on Kerr’s MMA career during the three-year period that it covers. It keeps the overall story streamlined and easy-to-follow, and the devastating physical effects of MMA fights provide a stronger background for Mark’s addiction to painkillers.

However, during the peak of his MMA career, Kerr was also participating in the Abu Dhabi Combat Club (ADCC) Submission Wrestling Championships. Kerr was the 1999 and 2000 champion of the +99kg division (loosely translates to the heavyweight division in UFC and wrestling), and the 2000 champion of the Absolute division.

4

Kerr Was Reportedly The Reason Pride Banned Headʙuттs And Knee Strikes

In The Smashing Machine, Kerr travels to Japan to participate in the more lucrative Pride fighting championships in addition to the UFC. One pivotal scene shows the various fighters ᴀssembled at a press conference about the banning of certain strikes, specifically knee strikes and headʙuттs to the head of a grounded opponent.

While in the movie it’s depicted as a widespread safety concern, in reality the rules changed to ensure that fights would last longer (many were called quickly due to cuts from such strikes), and to maximize entertainment value, per The Sportster. Mark Kerr in particular was famous for ending fights quickly with brutal knockouts, so the rule changes essentially robbed him of his greatest advantages.

3

Kerr’s Nickname Came From The First Night Of His Career

The Smashing Machine opens with one of Mark Kerr’s first professional UFC bouts at the World Vale Tudo Championship in 1997. On the night of January 19th, Kerr defeated three opponents in savage fashion, even gouging at one of his opponent’s open wounds in an effort to get him to quit.

After defeating his first two opponents extremely quickly, he punished his third opponent, Fabio Gurgel, for half an hour. Fights were not timed at that point in MMA’s history, and Gurgel simply refused to give up. Kerr eventually destroyed his face with headʙuттs, cracking his orbital bone in the process, per Bloody Elbow.

The next day, a Brazilian magazine labeled him “Maquine de Bater” on its cover, which translates to “the machine that smashes.” The nickname stuck with Kerr for the rest of his career.

2

Kerr Turned To MMA After Missing Out On The Olympics As A Wrestler

Mark Kerr’s background before MMA was in wrestling, as he was a Division I champion at Syracuse University in 1992. He continued to focus on wrestling after college, participating in the Wrestling World Cup, the World Championships, and the USA World Team Trials (which he won in 1993 and 1994).

During those years, he developed a friendly rivalry with Kurt Angle, who was on essentially the same path as Kerr, seeking to climb to the top of the amateur wrestling world. Angle would finally prevail on the grandest stage, as he beat Kerr out to represent the US in the 1996 Olympics. It was at that point that Kerr decided to turn his attention towards MMA, leading to where the events of The Smashing Machine pick up.

1

Kerr Struggled With Addiction Before And After His MMA Career

Kerr’s battle with addiction began back in his college days, when he was just 20 years old. Per Biography.com, Kerr began using cocaine and narcotics when working various jobs after losing his athletic scholarship for getting caught stealing from another student.

When his MMA career materialized, Kerr began to turn to steroids and painkillers in an attempt to continue his pursuit of greatness. The drugs and alcohol allowed him to continue training and fighting despite the various injuries and overall toll that fighting takes on a human body. As shown in the movie, it wasn’t until a scary overdose that he went to rehab and attempted a change.

Kerr’s MMA career continued until 2009, although he was a relatively unsuccessful fighter in the 2000s. After his retirement, he relapsed in 2011, entered rehab again in 2013, and upon exiting struggled to regain his footing; he was even homeless for a short while with no income to pay rent.

However, Kerr was able to eventually turn things around, and has been sober for the last seven years, as he told TIME, inspired by his son. His participation in the production of The Smashing Machine is partially about ensuring that his story can be told so that it might inspire others who are struggling with addiction.