The 2025 Arnold Classic left fans and bodybuilding experts with plenty to talk about. On March 13, 2025, Jay Cutler and Phil Heath discussed the results of the 2025 Arnold Classic and revealed if Arnold Schwarzenegger was disrespectful to Men’s Physique competitors like winner Ali Bilal.
During the Arnold Sports Festival broadcast, Schwarzenegger called the Men’s Physique category ‘bogus’ because their legs were hidden by longer board shorts. This caused a stir online and within the bodybuilding community, as Ali Bilal, who won the Arnold Classic Men’s Physique title, revealed he plans to never compete at the event again.
As for the Men’s Open, the showdown between Samson Dauda and Derek Lusnford didn’t disappoint. Dauda got the better of Lunsford at the last Mr. Olympia but was unable to defeat him again at the Arnold. Lunsford brought arguably his most complete package to date, bringing up his legs dramatically since his appearance in Las Vegas. Heath and Cutler sat down to discuss the show’s conclusion and if Schwarzengger was out of line for his commentary remarks.
Phil Heath, Jay Cutler Discuss if Arnold Schwarzenegger Disrespected Men’s Physique
In a recent YouTube video, Heath and Cutler weighed whether Schwarzenegger disrespected competitors from the Men’s Physique category.
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As for grievances about the Men’s Physique prize money, Heath argued that each promotion comes up with their own metrics to determine payouts. He added that he chose the Open because of the large prize money attached to it during his competitive years.
“The Olympia, so why isn’t everyone making $600,000 at these shows? They are doing it because they want to do it. They come up with their own metric. They come up with their own thing. I’m thankful that I made a lot of money at the Open. If I had to do it all over again, I’d do freakin Open because I want to make the most money.”
“To say we should get paid more because the NPC, they are not realizing the NPC doesn’t funnel money into the IFBB. I love the fact that these guys are unified. I think that’s great. But I also don’t believe that you should ever say you would never want to do a show again,” he shared.
Heath was unsure what Schwarzenegger said that was disrespectful.
“What did Arnold say that was disrespectful?” states Heath. “I’m saying this, I ain’t got no horse in this race. I just want to know for my own.”
However, Cutler believes Schwarzenegger’s remarks showed a disrespect to Men’s Physique competitors.
“It shows a disrespect. Their theory is, and I understand every side you’re saying. Arnold spoke about the division like what is this, I don’t understand it.
Why are they wearing these shorts? The pajamas joke I think it’s kind of, it’s very insulting that they are not respected as the other divisions in a sense.”
2025 Arnold Classic Open Breakdown
According to Heath, Lunsford improved as the prejudging went along and stressed that no one was able to out-condition him in Ohio.
“He actually improves as prejudging goes. So, with the added size, it actually benefitted him. Because no one was going to out-condition Derek, especially in that lineup.
So it was to his advantage. I’m still shocked, but I’m happy for him because we just mentioned when you go through that loss, you’re angry. He told me yeah I was angry. I was like good, you can admit it,” he shared. “When you try to walk around like nothing bothers you, it’s like are you really being purely authentic? It’s okay to be upset.”
Looking at where Duada can improve moving forward, Heath simplified it: he believes it’s just a matter of bringing more conditioning. He added that his legs also improved.
“I think the only other thing he needs to focus is on is just get harder. I don’t see him as hard as Derek. When I think of winning, I think of dominating. Samson, he’s not dominating because he hasn’t figured out those problem areas. Even with the hamstrings, which I thought were improved.”
“His legs did improve. I just think maybe it could have been a timing issue. I still felt like he improved from Friday to Saturday, but it just wasn’t enough. ”
Heath explained that third-place finisher Andrew Jacked doesn’t need more size, just improved conditioning, like Dauda.
“Who is telling him that he needed more size?” wonders Heath. “I’m not trying to stir up no bullshit with judges and stuff because I’m sure he didn’t talk to all the judges. It ain’t just size that Andrew Jacked needs. He needs conditioning, period.”
Together, Heath and Cutler have 11 Mr. Olympia titles, adding weight to their opinions on the sport. Cutler saw Schwarzenegger’s comments as somewhat disrespectful to Men’s Physique competitors, while Heath remained unsure about the controversy.
RELATED: Lee Priest Says Derek Lunsford’s ‘Shock Value’ Led to Win Over Samson Dauda at 2025 Arnold Classic
Watch the full video from the CutlerCast YouTube channel below:
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