With Derek Lunsford seizing the 2023 Mr. Olympia title, discussions regarding the Open division’s future have heated up. In a recent The Menace Podcast published on November 12, Milos Sarcev, Dennis James, and Chris Cormier gave their opinions on how the event unfolded in a comprehensive discussion.
The 59th edition of the Mr. Olympia contest did not disappoint; a total of seven champions were crowned with only four bodybuilders holding on to their titles. Most notably, former 212 Olympia (2021) Derek Lunsford made history as the first two-division Mr. Olympia champion, an achievement that was long sought after by former seven-time 212 Olympia titleholder Flex Lewis.
Lunsford was tasked with taking out his teammate Hadi Choopan in the finals, and soon after he bested the Iranian-born champ, trouble followed. Lunsford’s victory was deemed controversial by many in the bodybuilding community, especially fans online. Fresh off earning the Sandow trophy, Lunsford has dealt with threats to his safety and his family’s.
While Choopan and Lunsford have publicly squashed any animosity, arguments about the rightful winner have raged on. The latest to assess the 2023 Olympia leftovers were bodybuilding veterans Sarcev, James, and Cormier.
Dennis James, Milos Sarcev, Chris Cormier Talk Lunsford’s Physique & 2023 Olympia Results
According to Cormier, he was unsure exactly why Lunsford had bumps in his lats. As for James, he thought it was either injection sites or an inflamed lymph node.
“Listen, but you got to be better at hiding stuff [referring to the lumps on Lunsford’s lats] hiding those type of things because you don’t want this type of fallout but but let’s not think that he’s the only one or that was I don’t know, it just needed to be thought out better but everyone’s doing something,” said Chris Cormier.
“I don’t know, if you tell me this is a lymph node I would believe it too,” said James. “I can’t see anybody shooting it to the point that it lumps up like the way it did. It’s symmetrically on both sides. I mean this looks like you’ve been doing this shit for a long time.”
Cormier says injecting needs to be “better thought out” because it can “totally mess up your body and shorten your career in bodybuilding.”
“There’s thighs, there’s hamstrings, there’s a lot of stuff going on where they are choosing to place different things. I’m not talking about Derek especially, I’m talking about overall in this sport. Men and women.
I just think it needs to be better thought out and understanding what can happen and what can come up of putting a substance in your body and I’m not saying to that point, but I just rather not see that type of thing like on the legs, hamstrings, and I think it’s potentially dangerous and I think you can actually tear muscles and I think you can totally mess up your body and shorten your career in bodybuilding.”
Even though the validity of his win has been brought into question, Sarcev underlined that Lunsford made history on November 4.
“Let’s first state, he made history, first 212 guys, had the courage to go to the Open, almost won last year, he said he was going to come and win it improved, he improved, and he won it, congratulations. Shit,” said Milos Sarcev.
“Yeah [he beat Hadi Choopan]” said Cormier. “He did a slam dunk from the free throw line with that back double biceps.”
“I didn’t [agree with Lunsford’s victory],” clarified Sarcev.
Sarcev believes Choopan and Lunsford were comparable going by Choopan’s back and Lunsford’s front.
“He knows he doesn’t have the striations and details in the front for that, because I look at it this way, how much worse is Hadi’s back compared to Derek’s front? asks James.
“Comparable, very comparable,” replied Sarcev.
“I think Hadi’s glutes had more striations than Derek’s chest. I think that Hadi’s back was not as good as his front but if I had to take it, how big of a difference from front to back, I would say 70% different. He’s 70% from the back, 100% from the front. With Derek, I’m going to be honest, he’s 110% from the back, and maybe 60% from the front,” explained Dennis James.
If it were up to Dennis James, he would have awarded Choopan his second Mr. Olympia title:
“If I would have been the deciding factor for the win, I would have gave it to Hadi one more time,” added James. “I’m cool with Derek winning.”
Next, Cormier, Sarcev, and James discussed whether or not Lunsford has an abs and thigh pose since he always pulls vacuums which doesn’t show off his abs.
“The abs were improved [on Lunsford] even though it wasn’t like Hadi’s abs, but they were improved,” said Cormier.
“Why do you think he didn’t do an ab shot, ab and thigh, both hands overhead? asks James.
“Maybe it was gamesmanship, maybe it was a chess match,” said Cormier.
“Yeah, because he’s more competitive not showing,” shared Sarcev.
Sarcev, James Talk Controversy & Explain How Choopan Can Win Back Title
Despite Choopan exiting the stage abruptly, Dennis James had no problem with his behavior. Sarcev agreed, adding that he did take one picture and congratulated Lunsford.
“He took the loss, he took that thing, and he has nothing bad to say, he was in good spirit,” said Dennis James about Choopan. “You know, when you win the Olympia and you lose it… you know, you’re kind of like, ugh, that sucks. Look at Hadi, I don’t fucking think anything of Hadi for him walking off stage. I can get it. I know, I’m a fucking sore loser too. If you work hard for something and you want to win, I’m a sore – you do shit like this and this is nothing. I don’t think he did that to disrespect the people I just think he was ready to get out.”
“He congratulated him, accepted the medal, took a picture, he just after that first picture he didn’t want to take anymore,” said Sarcev.
When asked how Choopan could win back his Mr. Olympia title, Sarcev said the only improvement necessary was additional back detail whereas Cormier mentioned he needed harder legs.
“I get more comments about Hadi got fucking robbed,” said James.
“Me too, they act like you had something to do with it, like ‘God is going to curse this sport,'” said Cormier.
“Back detail,” said Sarcev. “I think so [that’s all he has to do,” said Sarcev.
“Those legs have to be hard [for Choopan to win back the title],” Cormier shared.
In light of the controversy shrouded over the 2023 Olympia headliner, IFBB Pro League Vice President Tyler Manion cleared the air in a pair of Instagram videos. He made a few interesting points. First, Manion said you don’t have to knock out the champion to win the title. Moreover, he justified their arbitration by evaluating the eight mandatory poses and concluded that Lunsford emerged victorious in five of them.
With Choopan ‘wounded’ and eager to bounce back, the 2024 Mr. Olympia promises to be another unforgettable affair. Olympia has reserved the Las Vegas Convention Center for next October in celebration of their 60th anniversary and fans can’t wait for the rematch.
Watch the full video from the Muscle and Fitness YouTube channel below:
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