Mark Kerr Shares One Son With His First Wife, Who Helped Him Through Some Very Dark Times

It's hard to picture Mark Kerr weighing only 190 pounds, but that's where he was when he won the NCAA Division I wrestling championship at Syracuse University in 1992. His wrestling career took off, and Mark became a champion in the Abu Dhabi Combat Club (ADCC) several times over. His athletic prowess extended beyond the mat and into the world of mixed martial arts, where he earned the nickname The Smashing Machine, due to his aggressive fighting style and impressive speed.

Despite being at the top of his game, Mark was privately suffering. After he returned from the 1996 Olympics, he started doing steroids even though he was able to bench press 425 pounds, per T Nation. The pressure Mark put on himself to constantly improve led to an addiction to painkillers that was documented in a 2002 documentary featuring his first wife. They have since split up, and Mark has remarried. Here's what we know about his personal life.

One of Mark's lowest points with his addiction came while he was filming The Smashing Machine: The Life and Times of Extreme Fighter Mark Kerr, the documentary about his life. "I was melting down in front of the camera, an overdose," he told T Nation. "The filmmakers actually put down their cameras and came to my side that’s how concerned they were that I was going to die."

At the time, Mark was dating Dawn Staples, whom he would later marry. She recognized what was going on as it was happening. While Mark was mentally slipping away, Dawn was on the phone with his psychiatrist who rushed over immediately. "I was saved because I had people around me who cared," recalled Mark. "The next day I sorted out the whole process and if I didn’t have people around me who were stable and talked to me logically, not coddling me, I probably wouldn’t be here."

Mark and Dawn were married in 2000, had a son named Bryce in 2005, and divorced the following year. They have remained friends and if Instagram is to be believed, still spend time together. Back in December 2022, Mark was helping Dawn paint her house, though he looked less than pleased in the photo, Mark still showed up.

Mark married his second wife, Franci Alberding, on Dec. 31, 2023. In an Instagram post from January 2024, the happy couple are posing with their dogs in one picture and with family in a few others, in what appears to be a tropical wedding spot. Francine is a fitness consultant who runs a business that creates custom spaces wellness facilities.

In February 2024, Mark posted on Instagram about a new career venture for Bryce. "Hi everyone! I’m excited to share some great news about my son, Bryce," wrote Mark. "He’s starting his career off and stepping into the world of credit card processing with US Card Solutions!" The former UFC champion then urged business owners to keep Bryce in mind for any and all credit card processing needs.

According to Celebrity Net Worth, Mark Kerr's net worth is 400,000. This isn't much considering the fact that he is a two-time UFC Heavyweight Tournament Champion, World Vale Tudo Championship tournament winner, and a PRIDE FC competitor.

In October 2025, a movie about Mark's life, starring The Rock, will hit theaters. Perhaps this will give his net worth a bit of a bump.