Bennie Safdie's directorial debut to be with Dwayne Johnson's 'The Smashing Machine'

Dwayne Johnson will play MMA and UFC champion Mark Kerr in the movie, which is backed by studio A24.

Los Angeles: Actor-filmmaker Benny Safdie is set to make his solo directorial debut with The Smashing Machine, an upcoming movie headlined by Hollywood star Dwayne Johnson.

According to entertainment news outlet Variety, Johnson will play MMA and UFC champion Mark Kerr in the movie, which is backed by studio A24.

The drama movie will chronicle the story of Kerr from the no-holds-barred era of the UFC at the peak of his career. He struggles with addiction, winning, love and friendship in the year 2000.

Kerr, an American former wrestler and MMA icon, was a two-time UFC Heavyweight Tournament Champion and World Vale Tudo Championship tournament winner. Over the course of his career, he won over two dozen MMA titles.

Safdie rose to fame with his brother Josh as the co-director of critically-acclaimed movies Uncut Gems and Good Time. As an actor, he has starred in Pieces of a Woman, Licorice Pizza and Oppenheimer.

He will write and direct The Smashing Machine, which will be produced by Johnson and Dany Garcia’s Seven Bucks Productions. Safdie will also produce through Out for the Count banner, alongside Eli Bush and David Koplan.