Earned the nickname ‘Smashing Machine’ with knockouts as a UFC fighter – I was disrespected selling cars but now own a business
Mark Kerr used to make a living knocking out UFC heavyweights – but now he has a day job serving clients who don’t know about his past.
The MMA pioneer, who won back-to-back UFC tournaments, worked as a car salesman for years and now owns a flooring business after quitting combat sports in 2009.
Kerr fought during the early days of the UFC when fighters had to fight twice in one night, not that it bothered the American as he was able to finish his opponents in record time.
The 54-year-old earned his ‘Smashing Machine’ nickname by earning four first-round stoppage wins – with his longest fight lasting just 133 seconds – at UFC 14 and the UFC 15 in 1997.
After his brief stint in the UFC, Kerr traveled to Japan to test himself against top Pride fighters and stalled after a few years, losing ten of his last 12 fights after starting his career with a record of 13-1.
The 15-11 fighter has battled an addiction to painkillers and has openly spoken about the impact it has had on his career since retiring from MMA.
In 2015, Kerr spoke to Sports Illustrated about his new life as a salesman and what it’s been like to go from fighting in front of thousands of people to selling cars to unsuspecting customers.
“Sometimes I hate the job because from the story I have in mind, some of the clients who come to talk to me have no idea what I was doing for a living,” he said. declared.
“I have no idea that I’ve fought in the UFC or won Abu Dhabi three times. So they talk to me in a way that if they knew I was that person before, probably half the things that came out of their mouths wouldn’t be.
“They wouldn’t be as disrespectful or demeaning. I’m sitting there and almost laughing. I’ve had bosses and I know if they tried to talk to me in a bar like they did at work, they wouldn’t. They would take a look and go back to their seats.
According to Kerr’s LinkedIn page, he quit working at his local Toyota dealership soon after, and in 2022 became co-owner of IMMP Flooring.
Whatever he does today, MMA fans will always remember him as “The Smashing Machine” who took the UFC by storm before it grew into a multi-billion dollar organization.
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