2023 Arnold Basic Preview – Breaking Muscle

A number of the world’s greatest bodybuilders are gathering in Columbus.

Written by Robert Zeglinski Final up to date on March 2, 2023

The 2023 Arnold Classic (AC) will happen this weekend in Columbus, OH, and it appears to be like like fairly the present is in retailer. With a lucrative $300,000 prize for the Males’s Open division winner, the battle for the headline occasion figures to be fairly a doozy throughout the board.

On Mar. 2-5, 2023, followers can begin centering their power on one of many greatest exhibits in bodybuilding. Right here’s a take a look at the Males’s Open roster for the 2023 AC:

2023 Arnold Basic | Males’s Open Roster

With reigning AC champion Brandon Curry sitting out this 12 months’s iteration, 2021 winner Nick Walker figures to be the favourite within the eyes of many followers and specialists. Walker is coming off a third-place outcome within the 2022 Mr. Olympia and will likely be returning to the AC as an apparent means of redemption throughout this aggressive season. The athlete has tabbed 2022 Olympia runner-up and former 212 Olympia champion (2021) Derek Lunsford as one of his main rivals. 4-time Mr. Olympia champion (2006-2007, 2009-2010) Jay Cutler has picked Walker as the No. 1 contender. Seven-time 212 Olympia champion (2012-2018) Flex Lewis additionally expects Walker to take the title.

As for who may probably beat Walker, there is no such thing as a scarcity of worthy opponents. For one, there’s former two-time Mr. Olympia (2020-2021) Mamdouh “Big Ramy” Elssbiay, who’s returning to the competitors after a two-year absence. In the meantime, two-time AC winner (2018, 2020) William Bonac goals to return to the highest of the rostrum. A darkish horse competitor might be Chinedu Andrew Obiekea, aka “Andrew Jacked,” who burst onto the scene as an Worldwide Federation of Bodybuilding and Health (IFBB) Professional League rookie in 2022 with wins within the Texas Pro and Arnold Classic UK.