Everyone has an opinion on who will come out on top at this weekend’s Arnold Sports Festival – even the best in the business. Here, our panel of experts – Phil Heath, Jay Cutler, Branch Warren, Victor Martinez, Chris Cormier, Adela Garcia, Nicole Wilkins and Sonia Querido – offer their predictions on how things will go down in Columbus.
PHIL HEATH
Resume: Two-time and reigning Mr. Olympia; two-time Arnold Classic runner up (2008, 2010)
Top 6 Picks
1 Dexter Jackson
2 Cedric McMillan
3 Toney Freeman
4 Ben Pakulski
5 Fouad Abiad
6 Ronny Rockel
Heath’s Breakdown
“I think Dexter is the hands-on favorite. It’s his show to lose. Obviously he has been able to win here and he does have a lot of fan support in Columbus. Mentally, he’s coming off a strong finish at the Olympia and winning the Masters Olympia, but he actually looked better at the Masters. If he looks better than that this should be a straight-firsts victory. He just needs to stay tight and full – he has all the muscle he needs.”
“Second place is very, very tough to call. I have it between three guys – Cedric, Ben and Toney. I’ll go ahead and put Cedric there because he has a ton of hype going on right now. He’s been posting pictures of himself online, which he hasn’t done before, so you know he’s feeling good about how he’s looking. But I still think guys like Ben get harder than him – actually much harder.”
“If Toney can come in like past Olympias, he could be second. Anywhere from 2nd to 4th can be flip-flopped, that’s how close I think it is. With Pakulski, he probably has the biggest legs at the show and from the front he looks great. From the back he’s really bottom heavy. With Cedric, when you turn him around he’s very big structurally, however he doesn’t carry the thickness I think you need to dominate a show like the Arnold. Toney is actually more dense than him – he’s more dense than a lot of people think. But he’s older, so it’s harder for him to showcase that muscle separation.”
“Fouad was 5th last year, so I don’t see why he can’t be there or even move up one place. If he can look good in a couple power shots … he has to come in shape to get looks next to some of the other guys.”
“Ronny Rockel has competed head-to-head with Dexter so he could be higher, but I think he said he has diabetes so that could be a problem. Johnnie, unless he got bigger in the leg department I just can’t see it in this lineup for him. His upper body dominates in certain shots but it’s those legs that hold him back.”
“Ed Nunn to me is the wild card in this whole show. He could break into the top six without a problem. HE always comes in pretty good from the front, but from the rear he’s just flat. He has to come in round. It would be a cool callout to see all the tall guys next to each other. If the judges want to work these guys, you’re gonna see some guys in the top six who aren’t in my top six.”
