Danny Padilla vs Mike Mentzer
Danny Padilla 
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Danny Padilla vs Mike Mentzer head-to-head record and every decided contest between them on record.
Our full story on Mike Mentzer: Mike Mentzer Complete Profile: Height, Workout And Diet.
- Meetings
- 3
- Danny Padilla
- 1 ahead
- Mike Mentzer
- 2 ahead
- Span
- 1979–1980
- At the Olympia
- Danny Padilla 0–1 Mike Mentzer in 1
In 3 meetings, Mike Mentzer finished ahead of Danny Padilla 2 times to 1, including 1 at the Mr. Olympia.
Every contest Danny Padilla and Mike Mentzer both entered
| Year | Contest | Division | Danny Padilla | Mike Mentzer | Winner |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980 | Mr. Olympia | Men's Open Bodybuilding | #10 | #5 | Mike Mentzer |
| 1979 | Night of Champions | Men's Open Bodybuilding | #2 | #3 | Danny Padilla |
| 1979 | Florida Pro Invitational | Men's Open Bodybuilding | #3 | #1 | Mike Mentzer |
How this is counted: a meeting is one contest where both athletes were judged in the same division. Standing on the same stage in different divisions is not a meeting, because the two were never scored against each other. Danny Padilla and Mike Mentzer meet that test 3 times. For scale, this database holds 40 recorded results for Danny Padilla and 20 for Mike Mentzer across their full careers. Counted from the contest record as of September 1, 2026.
Danny Padilla and Mike Mentzer at their peak
Peak window = the athlete's Olympia-title years where available, otherwise their best-placement years. Derived from recorded contest results. It is a span of years, not a rating.
Danny Padilla reached his competitive peak from 1974 to 1976, one of his strongest stretches (33% win rate across 6 contests in the window).
Mike Mentzer reached his competitive peak from 1978 to 1980, one of his strongest stretches (56% win rate across 9 contests in the window).
Score these two prime windows against each other on Prime vs Prime, where Olympia dominance is weighted for the size of the field each athlete beat.
Danny Padilla, beyond the scoreline
The part of this matchup a results table cannot hold, written by hand rather than derived from the record.
The nickname is the record in three words. At his height he beat competitors a foot taller, taking the Mr America short class in 1976, the Mr America and Universe lightweight classes in 1977, and USA vs the World in 1978.
He placed third at the 1978 Mr. Olympia and fifth in 1979 and 1981, competing in the open division against men who outweighed him by fifty pounds.
Danny Padilla profile Mike Mentzer profile Compare other athletes
Attribute Tug-of-War
Each bar splits a metric by each athlete's share of their combined total. A centered bar means they are level.
Not enough data to compare
Career attributes could not be calculated for one or both athletes.
Career Overlap Timeline
Each bar runs from an athlete's first recorded contest to their last, so the stretch where the two bars cross is the period both were competing. The marks on the bars are the years they met in the same division, one mark per year however many times they met in it. Careers that never cross can still be read against each other on career totals; they just cannot produce a head-to-head record.
Career timeline unavailable
We do not have enough dated contest results to draw a timeline.
Career Stats Comparison
These are career-long figures, drawn from the results we hold for each athlete rather than only the contests the two shared, which is why a pair who never met still has something to compare. Where the two differ, the row marks the stronger figure: the higher number, except on Career Start and Best Placement, where the lower one is better and takes the mark. A row the two are level on marks neither.
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This page counts finishing positions
Every figure here comes from where each athlete placed in the contest record. Judging sheets and point spreads are not in the database, so a comparison tells you who finished higher on the night. It does not tell you by how much, or how close the call was.
- A head-to-head result needs both athletes at the same contest in the same division. Two athletes on the same stage in different divisions were never judged against each other, so that show is not counted as a meeting.
- Only contests both athletes actually entered can be settled here. Careers that never overlapped produce a side-by-side record and no head-to-head, because there is nothing to count.
- Career totals cover the results we hold. A missing regional or amateur show lowers a total; it never invents one.
- A shared placement is left as a tie. It is reported separately rather than split between the two athletes.