Mark Kerr is the latest grappler to be immortalized into the ADCC Hall of Fame.
While Kerr was more of a freestyle catch-wrestler than a submission grappler, he used his division-1 wrestling experience to dominate his divisions at ADCC, with gold medals in the +99kg division for both, 1999 and 2000.
Kerr is among only a handful of ADCC double-gold medalists, with his performance in 2000 leading to a gold medal for the +99kg and absolute divisions. He is also a 2001 ADCC Superfight winner against HOFer Zé Mário Sperry, a 2-time UFC Heavyweight tournament winner, a World Vale Tudo tournament winner, a collegiate-wrestling National champion for Syracuse University, and the subject of HBO’s The Smashing Machine documentary.
Overall, Kerr holds a record of 12-1 at ADCC, his only lost being his very first match- a superfight against reigning absolute champion and fellow Hall of Famer Ricardo Arona. He also holds an MMA record of 15-11 with 7 submission wins.
His impact on submission grappling and jiu-jitsu is unmeasurable, as his style haunted the ADCC competitors and demanded the development of the sport.
