Ryan Bader is placing his MMA profession on maintain to dip his toe into the film business.
Bader, the present Bellator heavyweight champion, introduced on Monday that he’ll take three-month hiatus and relocate to Vancouver, the place he’ll be a part of the solid of the Mark Kerr biopic “The Smashing Machine,” starring The Rock (by way of Instagram):
Placing the mma sport on pause for a bit as I head to Vancouver for about 3 months. Excited to be part of a tremendous challenge by Benny Safdie #thesmashingmachine . Giving ode to some legends of the game, @markkerrtsm @markcolemanufc the highs and the lows that include this loopy ass sport. 🤘🏼 @therock
WWE star and actor The Rock has not too long ago taken up MMA coaching as he prepares to play former UFC event champion Kerr within the movie, which can spotlight Kerr’s life and profession.
Ohio-born Kerr was a drive of nature in his prime. He captured two UFC heavyweight event titles, successful the one-night occasions at UFC 14 and 15 in 1997 earlier than heading to PRIDE and taking over the likes of Igor Vovchanchyn, Enson Inoue and Kazuyuki Fujita in Japan.
Kerr’s profession was chronicled in HBO’s hard-hitting 2003 documentary “The Smashing Machine,” and now The Rock will play Kerr in a film about his life and struggles.
Bader, 40, didn’t element specifics about his involvement within the challenge or to what extent he could have an on-screen presence.
He additionally didn’t share his timeline for a return to MMA competitors after struggling a 21-second knockout loss to Renan Ferreira in his most up-to-date bout at PFL vs. Bellator: Champions in February.
Be sure you go to the MMA Junkie Instagram web page and YouTube channel to debate this and extra content material with followers of blended martial arts.
