Jay Cutler and Milos Sarcev worry visa hold-ups might once again prevent some of the world’s best bodybuilders from competing at the 2024 Mr. Olympia. In a recent Cutler Cast Podcast, Cutler and Sarcev compared William Bonac and Nathan De Asha before discussing who could miss the marquee show this October.
Last year, the IFBB Pro League was forced to issue an official statement after herds of athletes were unable to travel to the US for the highly-anticipated 2023 Mr. Olympia contest. Nathan De Asha, Behrooz Tabani, and many other Pros sat out the event despite earning their qualifications throughout the season.
It remains to be seen if this problem will rear its head in 2024. Nathan De Asha was the latest Men’s Open competitor to earn his right to stand against the best, thanks to his hard-fought victory over former two-time Arnold Classic champ William Bonac in Portugal. Not only did Cutler and Sarcev break down the 2024 Mr. Big Evolution results, but they also opened up on whether they believe visa issues will strike again in the months to come.
Jay Cutler, Milos Sarcev Recap 2024 Mr. Big Evolution – William Bonac vs Nathan De Asha
Cutler and Sarcev examined a few of the poses displayed by Nathan De Asha and William Bonac at the 2024 Mr. Big Evolution Portugal show. First, they looked closer at the back double biceps shot.
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“Who wins [back double biceps]? I would give it to Bonac. Again, even though he doesn’t have the width. He doesn’t have it. But, I even gave the back double biceps to William against Behrooz and Behrooz has that crazy beautiful width because when you see that high-definition footage, and I’m not a glute man. I’m the first one to say it,” said Sarcev.
“I liked William’s lower body. I think it’s more impressive,” said Cutler.
From the side, Sarcev argued that it’s hard to compete with Bonac’s density.
“Does William win this shot?” asks Cutler.
“Yeah, Williams’ side triceps is very hard to beat.”
They also gave their take on the Portugal participants’ front double biceps pose.
“William, look at his biceps peaks too. He just doesn’t have the lats of these guys, right? The taper,” explains Cutler.
“That doesn’t mean it was a blowout. All three of us can agree that slightly they were going to go with Nathan. It was questionable.”
Will Visa Issues Hamper the 2024 Mr. Olympia Lineup?
Cutler and Sarcev are unsure if visa issues will prevent names like Nathan De Asha and Behrooz Tabani from competing in Las Vegas later this year.
“This is what I hate about these shows. William wins. Behrooz wins. And now, Nathan wins, and he was beaten by, and everyone is like, ‘Well, they needed to qualify them.’ You know what I mean? Here we have Nathan, Behrooz, those two guys possibly are not going to come to the Olympia, right?”
“I hope you’re wrong,” says Milos Sarcev. “I hope Nathan makes it.”
In a promising sign for the future, Sarcev pointed to Hadi Choopan, who has also been denied his visa in the past. However, from 2019 onward, the Iranian native has been able to travel to the US for the prestigious competition.
“That’s terrifying, but look, Hadi after two years, 17 and 18 years passing, finally he made it in 2019. I have a hope that something is going to happen and Behrooz can make it. Just imagine, first, it’s a right to earn a living,” explains Sarcev.
“Arguably he’s a top-six guy,” says Cutler. “Or better or on the outside.”
Sarcev believes athletes like Tabani and De Asha have earned the right to stand atop the Mr. Olympia stage. He doesn’t think politics played a role in who ultimately secured qualifications.
“Even if you’re top 10, you are a money maker’. This kind of money in Iran goes a long way. Yeah, he earned it. There’s no politics in a sense like ‘Yeah, we’re going to let all these people qualify.’ Conspiracy theorists are always going to do that,” said Sarcev.
“They saw the density of William that it was so impressive they gave it to him. I disagree, of course, I think Behrooz could have easily won that show. Now, the same William with the same density lost to Nathan who was not even as conditioned as Behrooz was in Spain.”
De Asha and Tabani aren’t the only high-profile athletes from the Open who have struggled to compete in the US. Earlier this year, Rubiel ‘Neckzilla’ Mosquera was unable to perform at the 2024 Arnold Classic reportedly due to visa issues.
Given that preparations can take months of hard work and dieting, fans hope visa complications won’t persist in 2024. Although Jay Cutler and Sarcev worry the Olympia lineup will be affected by outside factors, they are holding out hope that these athletes will make it to the big stage on October 10-13 later this year.
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