“The Rock vs. Alex Pereira” – Dwayne Johnson Sways UFC World, Jorge Masvidal and Mark Coleman in ‘The Smashing Machine’ MMA Preparation

Dwayne Johnson is probably going to shock the MMA fans with his next movie, ‘The Smashing Machine’. The movie is meant to be a biopic based on the life of the MMA legend, Mark Kerr. Needless to say, ‘The Rock’ is going to be the one playing Kerr’s role. But starring as a mixed martial artist, in fact, necessitates training in the sport. And the training has already begun. With that comes comments by fans pitting the WWE star against the likes of Alex Pereira. 

Recently, freak.mma shared a clip on Instagram, wherein ‘The Rock’ can be seen training in the arts of grappling and striking. Without a doubt, the video was a wholesome one, treating the fans with visuals of the former WWE contender donning the role of a combat sports athlete. Soon, Johnson took to the comments section and commented, “Thx U brother [punch emoji] This is DAY 1 of my training camp preparing for my next film, The Smashing Machine, where I’ll have the honor of becoming former UFC & Vale Tudo champ, Mark Kerr. Learning daily.”

The video garnered reactions from former UFC fighters and fight fans. Certainly, the MMA fandom was divided in opinions, but the anticipation of the film’s release was palpable. Wondering what the fans had to say? Let’s dive right into it.

Fans and fighters react to Dwayne Johnson’s training in MMA

As soon as the video struck the social media platform, fans, and combat sports athletes rushed to the comments section to express their opinions. One of them was Jorge Masvidal. ‘Gamebred Fighter’ expressed his excitement as he wrote, “Can’t wait for this to drop.” The emotion was carried on further by the UFC legend, Mark Coleman, who commented, “Looking so good keep it up wow,” followed by applause and fire emojis.

But the excitement wasn’t limited to the fighters. With the former WWE contender training in MMA, the fans couldn’t help themselves but pit Johnson against ‘The Poatan’. One of the fans wrote, “The Rock vs Alex Pereira”, while another commented, “The Rock vs Poatan is the fight to make.” Another fan questioned Johnson’s opponent in the cage, asking, “Who is the rock opponent?”

Few of the fight fans noticed that despite his age, Johnson’s movements were pretty good. “Dude moves great for his age and size,” one of the fans wrote. But not everyone was impressed by the big man. Some of the fans believed that he was a bit too big to get into the MMA cage, “The rock is too big for MMA.” Few others believed that the WWE star would not survive in a mixed martial arts bout, saying, “Man please stay out of MMA. Let the name live on cause the Rock hard facade will fade real quick in that cage.”

What do you think of Johnson’s training montage? Do you think he would fare well against someone like Pereira? Drop down to the comments below and let us know your thoughts.