"I fuc**ng hate predictions" - 4 x Mr. Olympia Jay Cutler gives his take on the competitors at the 2023 Arnold Classic
Jay Cutler is one of the legends in the sport of bodybuilding, having won the Mr. Olympia four times. While this does not come close to Arnold's seven and Ronnie Coleman's eight titles, Cutler, in his own right, is one of the most talented athletes to grace the Olympia stage.
He finished second in the Olympia a record six times in his career. Since retirement, Cutler has risen to be a significant commentator surrounding the sport.
Since March began, the Arnold Classic has been the only thing on every fan's mind. As a lifelong student of the game, Cutler is no exception. In a recent episode of the Cutler Cast podcast, the four-time Mr. Olympia stated that while his excitement for the Classic has peaked, he still despises making predictions:
"You know what’s funny, I was on Chris [Psycho Lewis’] live feed and he didn’t ask for my top five. I fuc**ng hate predictions. Make sure you bleep that out. I hate predictions. I hated it when I was a competitor, I don’t want to disrespect anyone. I’m just the guy, like I have my, I have my what I think the judges are going to do and my preference with physiques. I love the muscle right."
With that said, Cutler did not shy away from speaking about the favorites on the show. This includes 212 Olympia champion Shaun Clarida, who is testing open bodybuilding waters at the Classic:
"If Clarida lands in the top three, what position does that put him in. Like, does he make the decision to go back and win the 212 or do you feel like he may shift gears and say, ‘you know what, if I can finish in the top six, the money factor is much different'."
Clarida has previously opened up about his desire to switch to the Men's Open at the 2023 Olympia if he enjoys a successful outing in Columbus this month.
Cutler then spoke of the mystery surrounding Samson Dauda's appearance at the Classic. He stated that his bigger stature compared to last year really makes him an 'unknown':
"I think right now, Andrew has more hype than Samson does. Like we’ve seen more. Maybe, I don’t know. Maybe I’m wrong ... Samson is kind of like an unknown because he’s coming in a lot bigger than a year ago, where he was fourth in the Arnold."
Jay stated that the reason he does not want to make any predictions is that he believes the competition to be 'too close'.
"ou notice we’re not making any predictions here. I don’t want to make this a prediction show because – I just feel like – this is too close."
Cutler can't choose who he would rather see win the 2023 Arnold Classic
Speaking of the Classic, the 4-time Mr. Olympia stated that any one of the competitors winning will give him joy in different ways:
"I love Nick Walker but I’m a fan of Andrew. I’m a fan of Samson. I’m a fan of Clarida – for just — man, I would love him to win. I’d love Ramy to do a comeback story and get up there and quad stomp and just come up crazy, right."
It is almost impossible to accurately predict the results of the 2023 Arnold Classic, especially considering the sheer talent that will be presented to us on stage.