Jay Cutler once ruled the Men’s Open division but swapped his posing trunks for a microphone since retirement. In a recent Cutler Cast podcast, ‘The Comeback Kid’ assessed the competition before the show takes place.
The 2023 Arnold Classic is taking over Columbus, Ohio from March 2-5. A total of seven bodybuilding categories will be showcased at this weekend’s event. As usual, the Men’s Open division will serve as the event’s premier headliner. The anticipation surrounding the contest swelled and so has the competitors list.
A few weeks ago, the prize money for the Open class at the Arnold Classic surged to $300,000. The financial opportunity prompted Nick Walker, Andrew Jacked, Patrick Moore, and former two-time Mr. Olympia Mamdouh ‘Big Ramy’ Elssbiay’ to make surprise entries.
This is far from the first time that Cutler has shared his thoughts on the upcoming show. He praised Shaun Clarida’s ‘x-factor’ and Walker’s consistency on his Cutler Cast podcast two weeks ago. With the show’s arrival, Cutler took part in a final 2023 Arnold Classic breakdown. And while he wouldn’t share concrete predictions, he had a lot to say about some of the bodybuilders slated to compete.
Jay Cutler says 2023 Arnold Classic ‘Too Close’ for Predictions, Talks Big Ramy and Nick Walker
Cutler opened up on some of the frontrunners days before the show, like Shaun Clarida, Samson Dauda, Nick Walker, Andrew Jacked, and Big Ramy.
“If Clarida lands in the top three, what position does that put him in. Like, does he make the decision to go back and win the 212 or do you feel like he may shift gears and say, ‘you know what, if I can finish in the top six, the money factor is much different,'” said Jay Cutler.
According to the 49-year-old, Dauda is the biggest ‘unknown’ heading into the competition.
“I think right now, Andrew has more hype than Samson does. Like we’ve seen more. Maybe, I don’t know. Maybe I’m wrong,” added Cutler. “Samson is kind of like an unknown because he’s coming in a lot bigger than a year ago, where he was fourth in the Arnold.”
He added that the 2023 Arnold Classic is ‘too close’ and didn’t want to pick a winner after predicting Big Ramy’s placement incorrectly at the last Olympia.
“You notice we’re not making any predictions here. I don’t want to make this a prediction show because – I just feel like – this is too close. Anyone that goes on to these podcasts and places bets and try to bet the order… good luck. You’re not going to get it right. We totally destroyed the Olympia because we all picked Ramy to win. Obviously, that changed everything when he got knocked to fifth place.”
“You know what’s funny, I was on Chris [Psycho Lewis’] live feed and he didn’t ask for my top five. I fuc**ng hate predictions. Make sure you bleep that out. I hate predictions. I hated it when I was a competitor, I don’t want to disrespect anyone. I’m just the guy, like I have my, I have my what I think the judges are going to do and my preference with physiques. I love the muscle right.”
Cutler appreciates comeback stories as he returned to the 2009 Olympia to win his title back after losing it to Dexter Jackson the year prior. He would love to see Ramy make a return after slipping to fifth place at his latest Olympia contest.
In addition, he predicted that Nick Walker will eventually win a total of three Arnold Classic titles.
“I love Nick Walker but I’m a fan of Andrew. I’m a fan of Samson. I’m a fan of Clarida – for just — man, I would love him to win. I’d love Ramy to do a comeback story and get up there and quad stomp and just come up crazy, right. Hell, I’m happy for Nick Walker if he can get this two times. That would mean he’s one away from me right. I think at some point, I predict Nick Walker will hit three Arnolds, and that’s just awesome for me to see,” says Jay Cutler.
Cutler made it clear he has no ‘horses’ in this race but underlined the prestige of winning the Arnold Classic.
“Like we always say, we have no horses in this race man,” said Cutler. “I just know what the winner’s circle feels like, so I would love for every single of these guys – some of them have been in the winner’s circle. I would like some guys that haven’t been able to be in there yet. It would be awesome to see.”
He added that Justin Rodriguez and Akim Williams could shock the world given their recent improvements.
“I want to see Justin Rodriguez, he’s impressive right now. Akim looks really good,” added Cutler. “There’s a great storyline to everyone and there’s so many good bodies. If all those guys that we just mentioned – everyone looks in shape right now. I haven’t seen anyone that’s like, ‘oh, he hasn’t shown anything.’ I mean, everyone is putting their bodies on the line for it.”
The lineup is stacked and plenty of bodybuilding veterans have chimed in on who they think could win gold. Big Ramy seeks to redeem his Olympia performance with a quick turnaround. His coach, Chad Nicholls, who also trained Ronnie Coleman, revealed in a recent Olympia TV interview that Ramy was weighing 310 pounds. Moreover, he echoed that Ramy was 100% confident he’ll do damage at the Arnold Classic.
RELATED: Kevin Levrone Says Big Ramy ‘Doesn’t Have the Balls’ to Get Ripped/Shredded for 2023 Arnold Classic
Fans expect another memorable Men’s Open showdown on Friday/Saturday. While Cutler was hesitant to offer predictions, some of his favorites include Nick Walker, Shaun Clarida, and Samson Dauda.
You can watch the full video below:
Catch full coverage of the 2023 Arnold Classic, including pre-judging, event recaps, analysis, and final and full results at our Arnold Classic coverage hub: FitnessVolt.com/arnold-classic
Published: 2 March, 2023 | 1:20 PM EDT
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