The bodybuilding calendar will welcome the 35th annual Arnold Sports Festival in less than three weeks. With the show around the corner, Johnnie Jackson, Milos Sarcev, Dennis James, and Chris Cormier broke down the lineup by offering their top five predictions.
Before the last year could end, the Men’s Open division underwent drastic changes. Even though Mamdouh ‘Big Ramy’ Elssbiay was a massive favorite heading into the 2022 Mr. Olympia, he finished fifth place. Meanwhile, Hadi Choopan asserted himself as the new champion with Derek Lunsford and Nick Walker rounding out the top three.
Less than three months separated the 2022 Mr. Olympia from this year’s Arnold Classic. This resulted in a sparse lineup. However, that changed after the Arnold Sports promoters increased the prize money for the Open class winner to $300,000. The added incentive prompted Andrew Jacked, Patrick Moore, Walker, and Big Ramy to enter the contest.
Speaking on the latest The Menace Podcast, Jackson, Sarcev, James, and Cormier took a closer look at some of the top threats expected to contend for the Arnold Classic title. In addition, they offered their top five predictions for next month’s event.
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Johnnie Jackson Top 5 for 2023 Arnold Classic
- Big Ramy — Winner
- Samson Dauda — Second Place
- Nick Walker — Third Place
- William Bonac — Fourth Place
- Andrew Jacked — Fifth Place
Milos Sarcev Top 5 for 2023 Arnold Classic
- Samson Dauda — Winner
- Andrew Jacked — Second Place
- Big Ramy — Third Place
- Nick Walker — Fourth Place
- Shaun Clarida — Fifth Place
Chris Cormier Top 5 for 2023 Arnold Classic
- Nick Walker — Winner
- Andrew Jacked — Second Place
- Big Ramy — Third Place
- Samson Dauda — Fourth Place
- William Bonac — Fifth Place
Dennis James Top 5 for 2023 Arnold Classic
- Big Ramy — Winner
- Nick Walker — Second Place
- Samson Dauda — Third Place
- William Bonac — Fourth Place
- Andrew Jacked — Fifth Place
Milos Sarcev Talks Big Ramy ‘Puzzle,’ Says William Bonac Is A ‘Serious Factor’ Ahead of 2023 Arnold Classic
Sarcev said Samson Dauda can win the show with shape, but he refused to count out William Bonac and Big Ramy as legitimate title contenders.
“If they consider shape, then of course Samson is winning. Of course, Samson is winning. If they don’t, then Nick with a little better conditioning could overtake him. Ramy is a big puzzle. I hope Ramy comes very good at his best and he’s right away a contender right there. Bonac is a serious factor. He won twice, going into the show for Olympia, I was considering him top three going into the show,” says Milos Sarcev.
“William, I was under the impression he was going to come bigger for the Olympia and harder. But then, the finals results, I don’t think he was bigger at all. You know. So, this was the issue,” added Sarcev.
In Johnnie Jackson’s opinion, Bonac shouldn’t concern himself with size if it means sacrificing conditioning.
“I don’t think bigger is necessarily better for him. Even filled out, he filled out all he could fill out, I think it’s a mistake to try to be bigger because he’s not going to get that conditioning. That’s what he needs to concentrate on because he needs to show separation between his upper and lower body. You can barely see that separation and it blends in to make him look rocky really easy. He could throw himself off and he needs to pose a little bit more with angles I think,” recommended Johnnie Jackson.
Dennis James suggested Bonac could win the show this year if he comes in looking as he did at the 2022 Arnold Classic, where he finished second to Brandon Curry.
“If he can come in looking like the Arnold last year, he’s fighting for the title,” says Dennis James. “Yeah, he should have won last year. He was really really good last year, especially after the bad showing that he had at the Olympia. He came back at the Arnold and he was revamped.”
“I think he had some issue with his quad which showed. I think he kind of fixed that, and he showed it like I said at the Arnold last year. He was working with Chad for the first time. And that worked great,” Dennis James said.
Before ending the discussion, James highlighted that very few Mr. Olympias have won the show with beautiful or ‘pretty’ physiques.
“How many Mr. Olympias did we have, how many Mr. Olympias ever, in the history of the Olympia show won the Olympia because they had the prettiest physique. Give me one. Lee Haney, and that’s it,” says Dennis James.
While none of these veterans thought Andrew Jacked would win the title, that wasn’t the case for four-time Mr. Olympia Jay Cutler. The 49-year-old welcomed Andrew on a recent Cutler Cast podcast episode. According to Cutler, Andrew Jacked ‘at his best’ would blast everyone off the stage at the upcoming Arnold Classic. Cutler has backed Walker as the biggest favorite before the contest but mentioned Big Ramy at 100% had the potential to win as well.
RELATED: Dr. Khan Says Big Ramy Looks Better After Stem Cell Therapy, ‘Confident’ He Can ‘Fix’ Ronnie Coleman
Given his recent showing in Las Vegas, Elssbiay is the biggest unknown heading into March. Unlike the 2022 Mr. Olympia predictions, Sarcev, Cormier, and James all see a different bodybuilder winning the Arnold Classic title.
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