Sherdog’s Top 10: Biggest Underachievers

2. Mark Kerr

Kerr is another standard example of an underachiever, as his chaotic life was chronicled in the classic 2000 documentary “The Smashing Machine,” which depicted his heavy steroid usage, recreational drug abuse and turbulent relationship with fiancée and later wife Dawn, who at one point attempts suicide. Even aside from that, Kerr didn't have the best mindset for MMA, including being deathly nervous before fights and having to be coaxed by his coaches to come out. There is no question that he was an underachiever, yet I didn't include him on my own top 10 list for one simple reason: I don't believe his ceiling was as high as people think. He was of course compared to close friend and training partner Mark Coleman, with many believing Kerr could be even better. I always considered this highly presumptuous, as it was often based around the chiseled, 6-foot-3 Kerr being even bigger and more muscular than Coleman and his 6-foot-1, 245-pound frame. The extra muscle, however, was thanks to the greater dose of steroids Kerr was taking, as both Coleman and Kerr had wrestled at the same weight, 190 pounds, in college. Furthermore, the steroids contributed to serious health issues for Kerr, and his size was responsible for his poor cardio during fights. In terms of natural ability, Coleman was the far better, more decorated amateur wrestler, attaining international success and making the Olympics, while Kerr only had collegiate success, and even then, only during and immediately after his senior year. Kerr was four years younger than Coleman and had much better submission defense, allowing him to win gold medals at ADCC in 1999 and 2000, though the level of the grappling tournament then as opposed to now is like comparing UFC 1 to UFC 201.

Still, even with the right attitude for fighting, a calm private life and no drug abuse, which would also have made him less muscular and physically strong, I don't see Kerr being significantly more successful than Coleman. There was a strict upper limit to the success that an excessively muscled, limited ground-and-pound wrestler could have even by the early 2000s, as MMA was evolving well beyond that point. Coleman likely did about as well as possible, and while Kerr underachieved, as his career ended up far inferior to his friend's, the distance between what he accomplished to his full potential isn't large enough to make my own top 10. But certainly, he is a notable cautionary tale for aspiring fighters.

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