BY GREG MERRITT

There have been other famous bodybuilding friendships. But the one linking Phil Heath and Jay Cutler is different because of how it began. Ten years ago, Heath was simply a fan of the already legendary Cutler. Through the years as the friendship deepened, not only did the fan join the legend in the IFBB Pro League and then on the Olympia stage, but he eventually won the Olympia title from him. How improbable is that? It’s as if LeBron James met an unknown high school basketball player, they became bros, and that kid grew up to not just play in the NBA but win MVP titles that would’ve otherwise gone to King James.

Today, Heath and Cutler are frenemies—close friends but also rivals. They’ve won six of the past seven Sandows, and, in a reversal of fortune, four-time Mr. O Cutler is now chasing two-time and current Mr. O Heath. On September 27–28, at Ultimate Nutrition presents Joe Weider’s 2013 IFBB Olympia Fitness & Performance Weekend, brought to you by Bodybuilding.com, these frenemies will face off for a sixth time. Can Cutler regain the O title once again? Will Heath do something his mentor never did (and something only six previous men have done) and win a third consecutive Sandow? Or will some top contender best them both? As we contemplate those questions, we look back at Heath and Cutler’s battles in gyms and on contest stages, and we see how both their friendship and rivalry grew. For the rest of this article go to FLEX.