2016 Mr. Olympia Predictions

1) Phil “The Gift” Heath
Heath looks to be in condition judging by what he allows to be seen on his “Gifted” videos and elsewhere on social media. In my opinion, his biggest title threat won’t be competing this weekend. Kai Greene has once again opted to skip Olympia weekend and thus his shot at bodybuilding’s most prestigious title.

Enough about “The Predator”; “The Gift” will finally be able to start counting Sandows on a second hand. Heath has let it known that he wants to win 10 of the highest awards in bodybuilding, and I predict he will take another step toward doing just that in Vegas this weekend.

Heath will have too much heavily conditioned, bulbous, 3-D muscle for guys such as Dexter Jackson, Shawn Rhoden, legend Kevin Levrone, and Nathan De Asha. Couple that with Heath’s sharpness and mass-monsters Mamdouh “Big Ramy” Elssbiay, Roelly Winklaar, and Akim Williams will simply not be comparable.
Heath has won the coveted Sandow five times in a row. Let that sink in—he has been the best bodybuilder on the planet for five years in a row. I predict Heath brings his best total package since 2011, quiets all the doubters, and makes us all finally take notice of how great of a bodybuilder “The Gift” really is.

2) Dexter “The Blade” Jackson
First off, what an incredible athlete Jackson is. Closer to 50 than 40 and still one of the three best bodybuilders on the entire planet. Dexter just brings the quality every time he steps onstage. There’s no indication to me that he won’t this time around in Vegas, especially after seeing his guest-posing routine at just three weeks out.

I know Dexter wants this bad—as do all of these extremely elite competitors—but Heath is the champion for a reason. Well into his 40s, “The Blade” still has an amazingly tight waistline, dense and sweepy quads, lats that jump across the stage as his arms go overhead. and one of the freakiest most-musculars in the sport.
There’s a slight chance that Dexter walks away with his second Sandow. Heath would have to miss the mark at prejudging and not be able to make up the ground at finals where Dexter was 100 percent bang-on at both. That’s a definite and realistic (although unlikely) possibility.

If you go shot-for-shot with these guys it’s really close. The only two shots where it really isn’t that close, in my opinion, are the side triceps and the back lat spread—both convincingly in favour of the champ.
All in all, being formally known as the second best bodybuilder in the world as you approach 50—not a bad outcome for a weekend in Vegas.

3) “Flexatron” Shawn Rhoden
“Flexatron” Shawn has been my favourite IFBB pro bodybuilder for quite some time now. He has become a perennial threat to the crown and is a certain top callout guy in Vegas. He continues to develop his weaknesses, but last year a new potential weakness came up, in my opinion.

Rhoden is known for mammoth sweeping quads, low hanging hamstrings, a tight waistline, and awesome overall aesthetics. In search of a bigger back, Shawn has started to add some quality mass to his lats, traps, and deltoids. But, at last year’s Olympia I started to notice that his waistline wasn’t quite as tight as it was in 2014, 2013, 2012, etc.

The fact of the matter is that even though his stomach wasn’t as tight as usual, it was still small, very small, especially in comparison with other athletes. Rhoden definitely is making strides with his physique’s symmetry, but the back still lags a bit. I think there’s just too much going on in terms of round, full, detailed muscle with Phil Heath to dethrone the champ, but I’ll call it another top three for Rhoden as long as he brings the condition, which he always does.

4) Mamdouh “Big Ramy” Elssbiay
They don’t call him “Big Ramy” for nothing. This 300-pound beast grabbed a fifth place at last year’s Olympia. However, the competition from fifth to 15th wasn’t near as thick with elite-level athletes last year as it will be this weekend.

Ramy is one of these new-age rare-breed mass monsters where you have a specimen that’s 280+ pounds with a tight waistline. The knock on this mountain of a bodybuilder is that his conditioning has yet to be jaw-dropping. Trends rarely break in the IFBB, and this weekend I still think we will be left wondering “what if he came in 10 pounds tighter and drier?”

Elssbiay will overwhelm most competitors onstage with sheer muscle mass, but doesn’t have the sharp lines and detailed, mature muscle for that to propel him to a top spot. The word out of his camp is that this will be the best Ramy yet—whether or not that’s an eviscerated, ripped, full package is still unknown. I predict Ramy, like so many others will be fighting for the elusive Olympia first callout.

5) Roelly Winklaar
Winklaar opened up the year with a win at the BodyPower Pro. It was one of his best-ever showings. He then went to the New York Pro and was beaten by Dexter Jackson, even though his form was comparable to his BodyPower win.

Roelly has been successful in Vegas multiple times (seventh place in 2013 and 2015) and will look to lock down a top six placing for the first time at the Olympia. Roelly has perhaps the most gnarly most-muscular in the sport and is constantly showing refinement in posing with every passing competition. He has been stationed out of Kuwait off and on for the betterment of his physique as one of the poster boys of Camel Crew technologies.

If Roelly can duplicate the packages he brought to the UK and New York, I think it’s safe to assume he at least replicates last year’s outcome in Vegas.

6) Cedric McMillan
“Big Mac” brought it this year. I had him ahead of Kai Greene at prejudging for the 2016 Arnold Classic Ohio. With no slight against Ced, I had it as a toss-up when they announced the winner. It wasn’t that Cedric faded noticeably, but Kai just brought a special package to finals.

Cedric has been a favourite of mine for a while and now has seemingly found a perfect balance of sharpness and fullness on show day. McMillan brings old-school lines and aesthetics with new-school mass. He’s one of the few graceful, golden-age posers onstage and always highlights his back width during his routines, along with his great side chest and side triceps poses.

McMillan could be the biggest question mark in this show, and that’s saying something. I see Cedric continuing his trend of newly found stage conditioning and being solidly in the first callout, giving Rhoden a run for his money—if he brings a package even better than he did in Ohio. But, if he doesn’t nail it for prejudging, he could be finding himself struggling to stay in the second.

7) Josh Lenartowicz
This densely developed 260+ pounder isn’t exactly someone you would say looks “pretty” onstage, but he’s pretty damn impressive. Lenartowicz pulls off a nasty, nearly grotesque look onstage while maintaining adequate shape and lines. He hits a couple of shots (especially his hands-on-hips most-muscular) that just make you shake your head and go “What the!”

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Josh had a great start to the 2016 IFBB pro season, besting William Bonac in San Marino and then taking home the first place at the Ferrigno Legacy and rounding it out with first callouts in Ohio and Australia where he beat Justin Compton, falling right behind Cedric McMillan. Photos coming from Lenartowicz’s camp in the past few days have shown that he’s bringing great condition, and he will absolutely be in the top 10.

8) Justin Compton
Whenever I saw pictures of Compton at the Golden State Pro a few weeks ago I sat in awe. According to reports, Compton went back to doing his own prep—and boy, did he nail it. He won the show with ease, leaving all the other competitors (with all due respect) fighting for second place.
Wacky. That’s the word that comes to mind when Compton clasps his hands together for his signature most-muscular. He’s armed with round, popping biceps and triceps and thick quadriceps that connect to a small waist.

Compton has the ability to be dangerous at this year’s Olympia, and if he’s conditioned like he was for his win this year, I expect him to knock off a few of the usual suspects. He’s another question mark, so don’t be surprised to see him solidly in the first callout and comparing favourably in the front and rear double biceps poses.

9) William Bonac
Bonac is packed with dense, detailed muscle from head to toe. He manages to hold a lot of quality mass on a shorter frame, but still keeps his waist in check—something that’s increasingly rare onstage these days.
“The Conqueror” is dead set on making a splash this weekend. Bonac amasses perhaps the fullest muscle bellies per inch in the IFBB. His arms, delts, and back set him apart from non-elite-level competitors, even at the O. He finished eighth last year, but it’s going to be difficult to replicate that result here.

Bonac is going to be fighting in the 6–12 range, and will land accordingly to his conditioning. If he’s full and razor sharp (as his nine-days-out pictures suggest he should be) he should be battling to be in the first callout. If he misses peak, he doesn’t have the structure to carry him, and he’ll drop into the midst of the second callout.

10) Victor Martinez
Martinez cannot be counted out. He has been given trials and tribulations time and time again, yet he always finds a way to overcome. Martinez really brought a great package to Baltimore and was rewarded with a win a few weeks ago. Camel Crew technologies helped him push back Father Time, and we were shown a Victor Martinez that reminded me of his 2007 Olympia showing. He really was just about that good.
Where does Vic belong at this year’s Super Bowl of Bodybuilding? Well, Victor was beaten by an ever-improving Dexter Jackson in New York earlier this year. However, as the contest season went on we saw him claim a pretty convincing victory as he himself made giant strides in improving.

Martinez is as classy as they come and always rises to the occasion, so something doesn’t seem right about me including him outside of the top 10. Big Vic’s conditioning in comparison to his fellow competitors will either propel him inside the top six or hold him from any prize money in Vegas.

11) Dallas McCarver
Is this the year McCarver shows up and everyone takes certain notice? McCarver made a good first impression at The Olympia last year, but he isn’t training and dieting for 13th place again. The pure tissue development per showing since turning pro for this guy has been insane.

However, this year at his Olympia-qualifying win in Chicago, I felt his abs were a little distended and blurry. At the Olympia, the saying is, “It’s a big man’s show,” but the tendency is still that quality is valued over quantity. It would be a shame for Dallas to start opening up that waistline in a search for mass. He’s put together well with an incredible structure and just needs to make small improvements every time out to be a surefire Mr. Olympia threat in a short couple of years.

Right now, Dallas is one of the heaviest men’s open competitors in the IFBB and is still holding great aesthetics. If he can fix the abs, bring everything together a little more in terms of conditioning, and display improved tissue development in his back from last year, we should see that 13th place in 2015 cut nearly in half for 2016.

12) Steve Kuclo
“The Kingsnake” will surely show up in Vegas with the goal to improve on his showing at the O last year. Kuclo has had a good 2016 IFBB year, but a top 10 finish in Vegas would really cap things off nicely.

He has great quads, thick arms, and a tight waistline. He’s continually improving his chest and back to meet the elite standard his IFBB pro mates have set. Kuclo has yet to nail his conditioning on an IFBB pro stage and will absolutely need to do so this weekend if he wants to make a splash among the best of the best and break into the first callout. Although I do think it’s possible, I think it’s more likely that we see Kuclo show up with a bit of room for improvement in the conditioning department.

13) Nathan De Asha
“The Prophecy” could not have built his stock any higher during this contest season. He first showed up at the BodyPower Pro with a clean looking physique: crisp lines, a tight waist, and heavily detailed muscles.

De Asha went on to New York and shared comparisons with the likes of Steve Kuclo, Roelly Winklaar, and Victor Martinez. Where De Asha really caught stride in my opinion was in California, where he took a toss-up second-place to “The Kingsnake” Kuclo. From there, De Asha went on to become the 2016 IFBB Toronto Pro champion, and now we look to Vegas to see where he fits in.

De Asha is grinding out his gym work in Kuwait, and per frequent Snapchat updates, he looks to be bringing some prophetic conditioning to the O. If De Asha can bring what he did in Toronto to Vegas, watch out for a big-time breakout against the best of the best. If he’s any better than that, you can look for De Asha to try to eke into the first callout.

14) Kevin Levrone
For as many people that say Kevin has no shot to dethrone Heath, there are an equal number that say the Maryland Muscle Machine (the greatest nickname the sport of bodybuilding has ever known) is going to bring so much detailed, quality, matured muscle that “The Gift” won’t be able to compare. Where do I fit into this discussion? Somewhere in the middle.
Levrone’s advantages in his prime were enormous triceps, massive deltoids, and his huge chest. He posed to his strengths and dimmed light on his weaker parts excellently. He would hit poses forcefully, showing sharp striations in his impressive aforementioned development. His transitions were always graceful and compelling. However, he didn’t have the back width to knock off Ronnie or Dorian, and once Jay came around, there was a major discrepancy in the size of the quads and hams.

It just so happens that Levrone’s strengths in the ‘90s also happen to be Phil Heath’s strengths in 2016. Heath has triceps, delts, and a chest just (about) as developed as Kevin’s was. The difference maker for me isn’t the age, it’s Heath’s lack of weaknesses. Kevin’s legs in his prime weren’t as big as Heath’s are now, and Kevin’s back was never as strong as the five-time champ’s is now—so why would they be with Kevin at 52?

For the record, my favourite era of physiques in the IFBB is the great ‘90s bodybuilders. But if I’m speaking logically, Kevin won’t challenge Phil and he won’t upset Dexter. Quite conceivably, Levrone brings the ‘90s polish and every bit of his prime Olympia days to Vegas this weekend and battles for the first callout. To me, saying the MMM is going home with a Sandow sounds nice, but also delusional.

15) Lukas Osladil
Here’s an example of an athlete that does the best with what he has. Osladil isn’t the biggest guy, he’s not the freakiest guy, and he’s certainly not the best structured. What Osladil brings to the table is a clean waistline and extreme conditioning.
Unfortunately for Osladil, he will be awfully out-massed in Vegas. For guys that are roughly his size (Lockett and Rockel) he should compare favourably. However, his structure and size will limit him from jumping ahead of guys in the second and likely third callouts. It has been some time since he has been on an IFBB pro stage, so maybe he will have added some much-needed quality stage weight.

16) Ben “Pak Man” Pakulski
The “Pak Man” brought a polished, tiny-waisted version of his physique to the stage this year and was rewarded with an Olympia qualification in Vancouver. To me, this was quite possibly Pakulski’s best showing to date. Pakulski will be making his second Olympia appearance.

Ben has body parts that propel him through lineups at the circuit shows in the IFBB, but at the Olympia it isn’t what you have, it’s what you don’t have. Pakulski’s back is still a liability in a deep, top-end show. His chest could also use more development because of his overpowering shoulders.
I think Pakulski has a shot at the top 10, but he’s definitely on the outside looking in. He has shown the ability to come in absolutely bone-dry and shredded, though, which would definitely help his chances.

17) Akim Williams
Until his showings in Baltimore and Tampa this year, I gave Williams the nickname of “Modern Day Victor Richards” because he looked like Mr. Olympia in the gym in the off-season—full, brimming with giant muscle bellies and strong as hell. He finally got in condition (except his upper back) and was rewarded with a win and an Olympia qualification.

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Akim then went on to the Arnold Classic Asia and the hype was dropped. An even softer upper back sent him shooting down the lineup and out of the first callout. Which Akim will show up at the biggest show of the year?
A shredded Akim Williams spells trouble for the first callout in my opinion. If he walks onstage for prejudging with zippered quads, the nearly nonexistent waist, and a separated, hard upper back, he will find himself fighting for a top 10. If he comes in any less, he might be struggling to maintain a second callout position, and judging by the full cheeks he’s sporting on social media, I feel it might be a little worse than that.

18) Ronny Rockel
With no ill intent, Rockel fits into the best-of-the-rest category. He won’t look out of place on the Vegas stage, but he isn’t going to surpass any big names. It wasn’t too long ago that Rockel was a top-10 Olympian, but the “big show” is just too deep in talent for him to sneak back in this year.
At 225 to 230 pounds, Rockel would have to be blessed with full muscle bellies and an absurdly good structure. Neither of those are true, unfortunately, for the now-44-year-old. Rockel will do well to finish in the top 15, but being at his best should be a win in itself this weekend.

19) Michael Lockett
Lockett finished second to Justin Compton at the Golden State Pro, but if I’m being fair, it wasn’t close. Lockett has a few body parts that provoke cheers from the crowd (chest, deltoids), but he doesn’t roll with the mass and symmetry to make a dent in the top 10 this year.
Lockett will be hard pressed to get into the mix here—he just doesn’t have the overall mass to hang with these elite athletes. A win for Lockett here is to bring his best, staple down a win in the 2017 IFBB pro season, and make the necessary improvements to bring a noticeably better physique to Vegas next year.

20) Brandon Curry
It’s been repeated so much it’s become annoying—Curry has all the potential in the world and it’s just never realized on that stage. I’ve jumped the bandwagon as over and over again, Curry shows up lacking the necessary condition to win a deeply talent-filled IFBB professional league show.
These athletes at the Olympia are the elite of the elite. Curry’s name belongs in that discussion, but he isn’t going to turn heads and really upset other competitor’s placings if trends with his conditioning are to continue.