The sport’s ultimate proving grounds returns to Las Vegas, Nevada in eight days, prompting bodybuilding veterans to preview the action set to take place in the Men’s Open. Taking to YouTube on October 2, 2024, Jay Cutler and Milos Sarcev explained why Brandon Curry needs better conditioning to push into title contention and revealed that ab control is Hunter Labrada’s only weakness.
Brandon Curry has remained a pivotal player in the Men’s Open division for years. He won the 2019 Mr. Olympia title after the late Shawn Rhoden’s vacancy, defeating a crop of bodybuilding mainstays like William Bonac, Hadi Choopan, and Dexter Jackson. Qualified for a lifetime, Curry is expected to bring one of his all-time best looks to the stage next weekend for the 2024 Mr. Olympia’s 60th anniversary, though his longtime coach, Abdulla Alotaibi will not be in his corner this time around.
The Open lineup is stacked with talent and will feature Hunter Labrada back in action. He gambled on himself by competing for a last-minute qualification courtesy of the 2024 Promuscle Italy Pro. He won the show without much resistance, leading to discussions about how he’ll do when he returns to Olympia for his fifth time.
Milos Sarcev, Jay Cutler ‘Not Counting’ Out Brandon Curry at 2024 Mr. Olympia, Discusses Hunter Labrada’s Only Weakness
According to Milos Sarcev, he’s not counting out Curry and with fuller legs alongside crazy conditioning, he believes he could put himself into title contention.
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“Listen, when he was second to Ramy, close second, he beat Phil and Hadi Choopan and in shape,” said Sarcev. “Brandon is tremendous. If he fills up the legs and comes in crazy condition it’s still hashtag bodybuilding.”
I mean, he beat Andrew Jacked last year,” explains Sarcev. “I’m not counting him out.”
“We just don’t know,” adds Cutler.
While Alotaibi mentioned that Curry had the body of a Men’s Physique competitor months ago, Cutler isn’t underestimating the former Mr. Olympia’s ability to get in shape.
“His ex-coach Abdullah mentioned that he looked like a Men’s Physique I don’t know how many weeks out,” says Sarcev.
“Yeah, but Kevin Levrone did that too,” argues Cutler.
Sarcev pointed out why Curry failed to earn gold in past Olympias and emphasized that if he’s in shape next weekend, he’s a legitimate contender.
“Brandon has that kind of physique that he can just explode. I mean if Brandon is in shape he’s a contender. 2022 Brandon was a little bit too big, no separation in his quads. So, that was the downfall. 2023 he was depleted dehydrated kind of flat-ish because of the hospital and still made the top four.”
“Very very difficult Olympia to make predictions, nor will we,” says Cutler.
Aside from ab definition and control, Cutler and Sarcev don’t believe Labrada is missing anything on his physique.
“Hunter is that enigma. If he brings perfect abs then he’s a competitor,” says Sarcev.
“He really isn’t missing anything,” shares Jay Cutler.
To correct this shortcoming, Sarcev advised Hunter Labrada to keep his abs in check 24 hours a day. Cutler said he’d benefit from posing practice.
“Look at one aspect, okay, so quality muscle density, the separation, striations, tie-ins, he shows more than let’s say Samson does, right? So, if you show more and you kind of create the illusion of the similar size because he’s a little bit shorter, arms are crazy, shoulders are crazy, back double biceps is crazy, glutes is striated, legs are crazy yeah, so the only thing missing on Hunter would be ab control. I would keep my abs 24 hours a day.”
“Are you posing like crazy if you’re him right now?” asks Cutler. “We can say that about Andrew, Samson, Hunter, they should be posing, posing, posing.”
This hasn’t been the first time that Cutler and Sarcev discussed Labrada’s potential. In a direct showdown with Nick Walker, Sarcev argued that Labrada would struggle to stand out against ‘The Mutant’ due to his stomach issues. For those reasons, he believes Walker could get the upper hand on stage in the days to come.
Although they acknowledge that Labrada’s main weakness is his abs, Cutler believes it can be corrected with posing practice. Don’t miss Labrada’s and Curry’s attempt to push into the first call-out at the 2024 Mr. Olympia on October 10-13 in Las Vegas, next weekend!
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Watch the full video from the JayCutlerTV YouTube channel below:
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