Jay Cutler Believes Classic Physique Champ Chris Bumstead Can 'Actually Win The Mr. Olympia'

Apparently, four-time Mr. Olympia Jay Cutler has gone on record saying he thinks two-time, reigning Classic Physique Olympia winner Chris Bumstead could win the Mr. Olympia (Open) title one day.

Jay Cutler recently spoke with Dave Palumbo of RX Muscle where they discussed a range of topics a day out from the start of Olympia weekend 2021, taking place October 7-10 in Orlando Fl.

There’s lots of excitement ahead of the most prestigious bodybuilding and fitness show and who better to hear from than the legend himself.

Chris Bumstead Can Win the Mr. Olympia?

Chris Bumstead Classic Physique Mr. Olympia

Palumbo brought up the topic of which Cutler wanted to elaborate as he said his message was a little misconstrued.

“I think you know being his age, with Bumstead, he definitely could grow into an Open competitor and actually win the Mr. Olympia, I did say that correct… but whether it’s ten years from now, whether it’s eight years from now.”

Cutler also acknowledged the fact that Bumstead’s known to have some health issues and many have pointed that out to him. But Jay also mentioned that Chris has been competing just fine at the top level and considering how good he looks right now, whatever the health problems are, they can’t be holding him back too much.

“I think that he has the structure to hold a lot of muscle,” he added.

Cutler again elaborated on what he meant, and it wasn’t that Bumstead could compete against guys like current Mr. Olympia Big Ramy, top contender William Bonac, and these top guys right now. But rather, whoever is competing in Men’s Bodybuilding several years from now.

Chris Bumstead is only 26 years old and could compete until he’s well into his 40s like a lot of competitors do. The sky is certainly the limit at this point and it makes sense when jay said Chris could grow into an Open bodybuilder.

Cutler praised Chris as he is right now. “He’s in the position to win his third title, I think the pictures tell it all, I think the confidence is there, I think he’s the ultimate body for the division”.

But he didn’t ignore the fact that there are some really dangerous guys in the division who could be fighting for top spots too.

Chris Bumstead’s Popularity

The fact that the young Canadian has a huge fanbase should also help him going into the Olympia. He’s got a massive 3.7+ million followers on Instagram alone.

“Out of everybody competing this weekend, he is the most popular guy,” said the four-time champ.

“Chris Bumstead is bodybuilding’s superstar at this moment and he’s got a whole community behind him and that really helps a lot when you’re in that position to win the title because the whole place is going to be cheering for this kid. I mean he’s kind of set the standard and he’s running with it. He’s young and he’s aggressive in what he does.”

Olympia Payout: Mr. Olympia vs. Classic Physique

It’s no secret that the top Open division competitors, especially the Mr. Olympia winner, get the highest payout. The gap is pretty significant compared to the other divisions too.

Chris Bumstead And Big Ramy — Chris Bumstead and Big Ramy

To give you an idea, Big Ramy in Men’s Bodybuilding took home $400,000 while Chris Bumstead in Classic only received $30,000 for his win in 2020.

Not to mention, runner-up to Big Ramy, Brandon Curry (2019 Mr. Olympia) made $150,000 and third-place Phil Heath (7x Mr. Olympia) earned $100,000.

This year, there’s going to be $1.6 million in prize money awarded to the athletes, the highest payout in the event’s history. Although, we don’t have the details of how it will be distributed among the many divisions competing.

Dave was curious what young Jay would do if he was a Classic competitor and knowing how big the difference in prize money is between the Open champ and Classic champ.

Jay’s response was, “You know what the kid’s making some bank on the outside you know there’s no question and that’s what you keep thriving on.”

Cutler believes it’s never about how much you win in a contest. He recalled never taking home $400,000 like Phil Heath because the biggest payout when he was champ was $200,000.

But he was ok with that because of all his endorsements, guest appearances, etc, that was bringing in the money.

Well, the same is true for Chris Bumstead.

Jay brought up a good point in that Chris is, indeed, a pioneer in Classic Physique and that’s what he’s likely focused on, paving the way for the division and creating something bigger than, well, a big paycheck.

“He’s going to be forever recognized as like the pioneer guy and it’s going to extend his career further similar to what bodybuilding has done for me.”

Jay Cutler has been out of the sport for many years now but he’s still hugely recognized and a prominent figure in bodybuilding.

“Bumstead has a legendary spot and he’s going to be known as probably one of the greatest,” he added.

Would Chris Bumstead Compete in Open Bodybuilding?

Funnily enough, Bumstead recently talked about whether or not he’d consider competing in the Open division.

At 6+ feet tall and weighing as much as 264 lbs (119.7 kg) in the offseason, don’t think it hasn’t crossed his mind. However, for right now and the foreseeable future, he has no interest in making the switch over.

“I mean, I’ve thought about it. It’s just not something that interests me, especially right now, where I feel like I am just catching my groove in Classic Physique and enjoying it so much, why would I think of something outside of what I’m doing currently. I’m just grateful and excited to be where I’m at, I don’t really need anything more than that,” Bumstead said.

“I thought, like jokingly, about jumping into an Open show as I am, maybe later on in my carer, just to see how I would do, and partly for the fans because there’s so much talk about it. But I don’t know if that will ever happen, and the way I’m monitoring some of my health issues now… is by doing as little as possible in the bodybuilding realm, and keeping things minimal. I think I’d have to push those limits a little bit more to go into the Open, and that’s just not really worth it to me, especially when I’m so happy where I’m at.”

Hopefully, that tells you all you need to know about that, at least for now.

You can watch/listen to the full interview below or skip to the 24:53 mark for this discussion.

We’re excited to see all of the competitors at the 2021 Olympia and we’re confident it’s going to be an epic weekend. Make sure to stay tuned for our full coverage of the events and competitions.