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 By: Myron Mielke
The IFBB Pro season kicks off with The Pro Fight Supplements Iron Man Pro on January 24. Here are my predictions for the top-ten finishers. This year marks the 20th anniversary of the IFBB Pro Iron Man. Many big names, including two Mr. Olympias, Jay Cutler and Dexter Jackson, have won the Iron Man title. Shawn Ray won the inaugural event in 1990. Flex Wheeler has won the competition five times. There hasn't been a repeat winner since Chris Cormier won his fourth in 2002. Last year's winner, Phil Heath, is not entering so there will be another new champion. The Iron Man has a history of guys making their pro debuts. I'm looking forward to seeing one guy in particular - Mohammad Bannout. He's making his pro debut and he is the nephew of Mr. Olympia Samir Bannout. Great genetics apparently run in the family! Imagine that. Like most everyone else, I've seen a few photos of Bannout on line, but that's all. It'll be interesting to see how he fares in the IFBB Pro ranks.
Here is the list of Pro Fight Supplement Iron Man competitors for 2009:
Without further adieu, here's how I'm going to call the top-ten for the 2009 IFBB Pro Iron Man:
Cherry won his pro card at the 2007 Nationals and he made his pro debut at the Arnold Classic last year. He placed 15th. He competed again in Atlantic City last fall. He placed 15th. I'm going to go out on a limb and say Cherry will make the top ten cut. Cherry has one of the better aesthetic physiques (not counting that pec tear, of course) with good proportions and a tiny waist. He looks to be in decent shape in the YouTube videos I've seen during his prep for the Iron Man. If he can dry out, he could crack the top ten in this show. If he comes in blurry he'll be somewhere in the top fifteen. If AD doesn't make the top ten, it could be Daniele Seccarecci. Daniele has competed in the Iron Man several times and has always looked pretty good and has fared well with the crowd. This might be Seccarecci's year to break into the top ten. If he doesn't, DeShaun Grimez might round out the top ten - if DeShaun doesn't come in smooth again.
 Click To Enlarge. Adorthus Cherry At The 2008 IFBB Arnold Classic View More Pics Of Adorthus Cherry Here.
Kjellstrom is big, really big, but he wasn't blessed with the shape of some of his fellow IFBBers who are winning the shows. If the trend keeps going to reward the physiques with more pleasing aesthetics, Kjellstrom might be overlooked. Martin could place as high as sixth or seventh.
Click To Enlarge. Martin Kjellstrom At The 2008 IFBB New York Mens Pro View More Pics Of Martin Kjellstrom Here.
At the 2007 Iron Man, Eddie Abbew looked phenomenal. He even qualified for the Mr. Olympia at that show. At the 2007 Olympia, however, he struggled with presenting the same look he showed at the Iron Man. He was very watery and his definition was blurred. Another thing I've noticed about Abbew is that his skin coloring sort of absorbs light. I'm not sure what his coloring protocol is, but it might be beneficial for him to use a different means of applying coloring for the competition this time around.
"Abzilla" will be back on stage at the Iron Man. Haidar is one of those guys who might place in the top five or he might barely crack the top ten. He hasn't been consistent so it's difficult to see if time off will be beneficial or not. I'm going to take a guess and say the rest has been to his advantage and he'll place well. He might place as high as sixth if he's on target with his prep.
Click To Enlarge. Ahmad Haidar At The 2007 IFBB Sacramento Pro Bodybuilding Grand Prix View More Pics Of Ahmad Haidar Here.
He's back. After a brief hiatus from competition due to some legal issues, Yamagishi makes his return to the IFBB pro stage. From a few photos posted by Milos, Hide looks to be in good shape with a smaller waist to boot. If his conditioning is on, he has a chance of cracking the top five.
Click To Enlarge. Hidetada Yamagishi At The 2007 IFBB Olympia View More Pics Of Hidetada Yamagishi Here.
"The Comet" has been posting his countdown photos on several message boards and he is looking huge and ripped. He's recovered from a leg injury and that, of course, puts him at a little disadvantage because his legs will be under more scrutiny from the judges. Haley always wows the crowd with his routine and he'll do the same in this show.
I had just about wrapped up this review when I found out that Moe was added to the list so I had to think where he might fall in the placings. He looked phenomenal last year at the Iron Man and, as I understand the story, he was really dehydrated due to the trip over to the States from New Zealand. (He should try and duplicate that same regime on purpose this year and see if it works to his advantage.) El Moussawi has the ability to place as high as second in this show, but it'll depend on how the Dugdale and Rockel look.
After a disappointing 2008 season, Mark is taking another run at the 2009 season. Dugdale was looking huge when I saw him at the Nutrex booth at the Olympia last September and at that time he wasn't sure which show he was doing next. (I guess he decided it would be the Iron Man.) Dugdale has a good track record of placing well at the Iron Man and I think he made a good decision to enter. If he comes in full and dry, Mark has a lock on another Olympia qualification.
Click To Enlarge. Mark Dugdale At The 2008 IFBB 15th Annual Sports/Fitness Weekend & Europa IFBB Super Show View More Pics Of Mark Dugdale Here.
Rockel is one of the most overlooked and under rated bodybuilders in the IFBB. Structurally, he has great proportions and shape. He has ample size, but like many of his fellow IFBB pros, he struggles in achieving that unnatural dry look that so few seem to be able to present. Rockel has the ability to win a show as he proved a couple years ago in Australia. He has improved his posing and presentation, but he could take that further and become more polished. If Rockel brings everything together, he could win the Iron Man, but there's still one guy left in the lineup who's going to give him a lot of trouble.
Silvio Samuel has established a huge fan base in the past 2-3 years. He has great stage presence and charisma. He also had the greatest conditioning at the 2008 Mr. Olympia. Samuel was totally peeled for that competition and looked unbelievable. Many people, including Iron Man promoter John Balik, felt Silvio should have placed higher than Melvin Anthony at that event. Instead Silvio was awarded seventh place, one place away from automatically re-qualifying for the 2009 Mr. Olympia. Silvio is the frontrunner for the 2009 Iron Man. He has the most IFBB pro wins of anyone in the lineup and always comes in shape in every single show he enters. And he enters a lot of shows! Silvio still has weaknesses like small deltoids and being too narrow in poses like the front double biceps, but if Silvio presents his stellar conditioning, he'll take home top honors.
Don't forget that the Iron Man Pro is part of the Los Angeles Fitness Expo, California's largest health and fitness weekend. The Expo hosts more than 250 exhibits, educational seminars from renowned experts and professional athletes, and the greatest line-up of fitness, physique, strength and mixed martial arts contests on the West Coast!
The Pro Fight Supplements Iron Man Pro and Los Angeles Fitness Expo are presented by Gaspari Nutrition and Bodybuilding.com and sponsored by Champion Nutrition, Con-Cret, BSN, SAN, Muscle Milk, Flex, Muscle & Fitness , Home-Gym.com and Subway.
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