What Just Happened?!?! Phil Loses - Mr Olympia 2018

In 3 months time, Phil Heath will likely join Ronnie Coleman and Lee Haney with the most Olympia wins of all time (8). That’s probably going to raise the eyebrows of a bunch of people but who can stop him?

The realistic challengers are William Bonac and Big Ramy. Last year Phil came in well under and Ramy brought his best by a long way and it was still comfortable on the scorecard for Phil. That would suggest Phil has to come in worse again and Ramy better for the orders to be reversed.

I don’t think that will happen and I think Bonac might be the better challenger with his crisp conditioning and full muscle bellies. He’d love another few inches in height, that would make things very interesting.

Roelly Winklaar is a darkhorse for this year. If he can bring his back up and add details to his legs then he has a lot of poses which can dominate Phil but if he gets blown away from the back then he doesn’t have a hope.

Dexter faded last year but he will still bring a good package, whether his body allows him to bring something that will let him challenge is probably unlikely.

I assume we’ll get the usual will he/won’t he antics from Kai who won’t take the stage IMO.

I’ve said it before, but it’s kind of a sad statement when Phil’s on the edge of tying the record, but most people, even fans of the sport just don’t care like they used to (many reasons for this)

Dexter hung around and was a genuine threat longer than anyone could have predicted.

Kai… well, that a whole other story that’s full of drama, BS, and delusions.

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It pains me greatly that the Ninja Turtle will win again but what can we do

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I know people who aren’t Heath’s fans will talk about him personally, and how he gets “into it” with fans online and doesn’t “represent the sport” well. Now, as much as I agree how certain former Mr. Olympia’s helped the public perception of the sport (at least as much as they could considering the nature of IFBB bodybuilding), it’s not a requirement of winning the title.

That said,… with the state of the top pros these days, Phil’s the best on the stage. Detractors can say what they want, but it’s not Phils’ fault if he’s not being pushed like some former champions were in their days.

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I absolutely love Phil’s physique, and I think bodybuilding history will remember him more favorably than we look at him now. You don’t reach 8 freaking Olympia titles without being a spectacularly great bodybuilder.

very true. If the Olympia, and bodybuilding in general, could make it back to tv in some form, I think that the sport could regain some of its popularity. But the lack of television exposure, the fact that the top bodybuilders suck at social media as compared to other less competitive guys, and the lack of great personalities in the sport, keeps the sport moving in the wrong direction.

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I really want Roelly Winklaar to win. He has that freakish “comic book” character look that no one else has. A really down to earth guy; He also have improved every year and come a long way to where he is now. But realistically he is not going to win.

Thats an interesting thought. I remember Yates commenting on Markus Ruhl’s size and popularity in a positive way, but adding that he’d never win the Olympia.

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His back double biceps pose is really bad, just delts and traps. I dont think it has anything to do with training though, probably just genetics. Other than that he looks great but Phil Heath is just too damn complete. Also i stopped believing the annual Big Ramy hype this year. I think Bonac will move up one more spot and be the runner up.

My list

  1. Phil Heath
  2. William Bonac
  3. Big Ramy
  4. Dexter Jackson
  5. Roelly Winklaar
  6. Nathan Deasha

He isnt liked by many but Phil is a great champion in my opinion.

I think Roelly is a more complete bodybuilder than Markus was. Markus was just freaky but Roelly physique just flows better and has some aesthetic to it while being freaky. But yeah, I think placing third is the highest he can go this year.

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I think he has the chance to place higher than Bonac as well as Dexter. Remember that he beat these guys in Arnold’s Australia. But great point with his back, his lats lack width and separation, as well as his lower back, holding him back tremendously. I like Roelly’s physique a lot more. But I am not the judges and they are probably gonna penalize him hard for that.

Delts and arms are cartoonish. Most muscular is out of this world. His legs are criticized for lack of separation but i think they are great too.

We think alike. I think his legs are good. I don’t think it is his legs that are holding him back, it is definitely his back. I mean most pros in open division have massive legs but they lack separation too.

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Bonac looked incredible at the Arnold. While I was watching it I was thinking ‘They’ll probably give this to Dexter out of respect for his track record, but damn Bonac looks incredible’. I was elated to see him take the win.

Great bodybuilder. A little bit more back width would be good but other than that i really dont see anything missing in his physique. Also he has incredibly thick and large calves that makes me so jealous every time i see them.

To be honest if Ramy comes really conditioned he can destroy anyone. But then I understand how hard it is for such a big guy like to come in as conditioned as the smaller guys.

Ramy has great V-Taper (wide clavicles as opposed to the narrower ones like Bonac and Phil), great muscle bellies, and he is bigger than anyone else. Only weakness that he has is calves but then that is because his quads are possibly the biggest quads ever in pro bodybuilding scene.

I do thinks Ramy has the structure to beat anyone… but even when I saw him at the NYPro a few years ago, he just wasn’t that impressive or dominant onstage.

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I think it is because he never came in really conditioned. Or maybe something about his aura, He doesn’t look as confident as Phil on stage. He just doesn’t have that charisma or ‘alpha’ look that some bodybuilders like Arnold, Dorian, and Phil (to some extent) have.

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Phil had a similar issue. It turned on a dime when he was behind Kai going into night 2 chasing his second Olympia win.

He turned up the aggression dial and was rewarded with the win. He was actually quite a nice guy until that point, following the Jay Cutler model but he just never went back.

People may not have been fans of jay but noone really disliked him Like they do Phil. Really makes you realize how professionally cutler conducted himself.

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