Heavyweight legend Mark Kerr was nicknamed ‘The Smashing Machine’ and for good reason. A former champion collegiate wrestler, Kerr was one of several wrestlers who came to the UFC in the late 90s leaving a long lasting impact on the sport and the importance of wrestling.

At Syracuse University, Kerr was the Division I champion at 190 pounds in 1992.[5] Randy Couture, wrestling for Oklahoma State University, took second place. Kerr was also a Division I All-American in 1992.[6] In 1994, Kerr was the USA Senior Freestyle Champion at 220 pounds.[citation needed] While training as an amateur wrestler, Kerr became interested in mixed martial arts as a way to earn money.

source: wikipedia.com

Kerr made his professional mixed martial arts debut in January 2007 and by July was fighting in the UFC, where debuted in July in a 4-man heavyweight tournament. He defeated Moti Horenstein in the first round and later that night famously submitted Bobish by ‘Chin to the Eye’. Kerr was invited to return to the UFC three months later for another heavyweight tournament, which he again won defeating Greg Stott in the first round and Dwane Cason in the tournament file.

Despite an undefeated record and two tournament wins, Kerr left the Ultimate Fighting Championship to fight for the newly formed Pride FC in Japan. At the time the UFC was having promotional issues and Pride FC was offering large purses for well-known fights. Kerr debuted uneventufuly at Pride 2 and won when Branko Cikatic was disqualified for grabbing the ropes.

Kerr would win his first five fights in Pride with five finishes, but included one contenst. His first loss as a professional would come to Kazuyuki Fujita in the Pride Grand Prix 2000 Finals, which he lost by decision. This seemed to mark the end of his prime and although he would continue to fight sporadically over the next nine years, he would only win three more fights and lose eleven.