Bodybuilding legend Jay Cutler is still keeping a close eye on the Men’s Open. On Nov. 8, 2025, he compared Martin Fitzwater to the late Gustavo Badell. He also tackled the prize money controversy between the Mr. Olympia and Arnold Classic.
Martin Fitzwater has continued to find success in the IFBB Pro League. Last year, he nailed down fourth place at the Mr. Olympia in his debut, a promising sign of his potential. He picked up even more momentum after taking out Chris Bumstead and Shaun Clarida at the 2024 Prague Pro. While he missed the mark in Pittsburgh and fell to third, he made up for the mishap at the 2025 Mr. Olympia.
“The Martian” brought some of the best conditioning of the entire show, which helped him secure fifth place. His next stop was the Prague Pro against a stacked lineup. He defeated Samson Dauda onstage and successfully defended his title. His stock has never been higher, leading Cutler to lay out what’s next for the surging Men’s Open pro.
Jay Cutler Talks Martin Fitzwater’s Potential, Says He ‘Reminds Me a lot of Gustavo Badell’
In the video, Cutler opened up about Fitzwater’s consistency at the highest level. He compared him to the late Gustavo ‘The Freakin Rican’ Badell, who passed away from a suspected stroke in 2023.
“Now, he’s top five in the world,” shares Cutler. “He’s on a mission. I’m pretty proud of him. It’s pretty cool to see the transition of people.
Him to get fourth and fifth this year, yeah, to see that consistency, reminds me a lot of a Gustavo Badell. People really didn’t think much because he didn’t have any overwhelming body parts, but he landed third at the Olympia those two years, ’04 and ’05.”
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Cutler also gave his thoughts on the growing prize money tension between the Mr. Olympia and Arnold Classic. He wants second place and beyond to receive additional prize money so the discrepancy from first isn’t so wide.
“I need to voice this because, you know… I won $100,000 at the Arnold every year, and I won $200,000 at my max at the Olympia, $155,000 the first year then they bumped it. I was second place a lot of times, six times but the money factor, when I was getting second, the top prize was $100,000. I got $60,000 and $75,000, right, so the thing is with me, I think there shouldn’t be such a swing.”
“I feel like they are reaching for this top prize of this big number, like the Arnold is $750,000, but I still think second pays $250,000 there; I might be wrong. I don’t have the knowledge of that, but I’m pretty sure. I just wish they would close the gap a little bit. Maybe not make the top prize so crazy because I feel like it’s everyone’s fighting to have the highest money.”
He believes that Schwarzenegger has the right to pay what he wants, as does the Olympia organization:
“The Olympia has obviously been that, you always heard this thing that you can’t pay more than the Olympia, but Arnold is paying $750,000, and Olympia is paying $600,000, so a little controversy there. The truth is to each their own,” said Jay Cutler.
Questions about where Fitzwater will land at next year’s Olympia are heating up. Judge Terrick El Guindy insisted that Fitzwater is close to Lunsford and Choopan, but until he beats one of them at a show like the Arnold Classic or Pittsburgh Pro, he won’t be considered a heavy on-paper favorite to win the next Sandow trophy.
Fitzwater has already expressed interest in competing at the 2026 Arnold Classic. If he does make it to Columbus, Ohio, from March 5-8, he’ll likely face off against Andrew Jacked and possibly Derek Lunsford.
Watch the full video from the JayCutlerTV YouTube channel below:
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