Photos of Cutler from the Olympia clearly showed swelling and redness in the area and it was reportedly suffered during a photo shoot. The injury was still apparent a few weeks later at the inaugural Sheru Classic in India, at which Cutler again was the runner-up to Heath.

That was back in September. Cutler is scheduled to go under the knife in February and be back in the gym by the end of March. Considering that he has competed only once a year, that should be more than enough time for him to get ready for the 2012 O.

But with the torch already passed to Heath and Cutler being 39 by the time that show rolls around, it would have been a wiser decision to have the procedure done earlier. Muscle tears like this need to be surgically repaired and waiting is not going to change anything for the better.

If Cutler has any chance of regaining the title for the second time (he took it back from Dexter Jackson in 2009), then he is going to need as much time as possible to get there. Losing the last four months cannot be changed, so Cutler had better hope that his recovery goes well without any setbacks. He doesn’t have any wiggle room now and has to be on point at every stage of his preparation.

In the fitness category, Adela Garcia defended her title successfully, holding off Tanji Johnson.

Sonia Gonzalez dropped from being the first Bikini Olympia champion a year ago to fifth place, as 2011 Ms. Bikini International Nicole Nagrani, 19, was named the winner.

In women’s bodybuilding, Dayana Cadeau and Mah-Ann Mendoza both competed for the last time. Both are veterans of the sport and will be missed.

FINAL PLACINGS

WOMEN’S BODYBUILDING

1. Iris Kyle
2. Yaxeni Oriquen-Garcia
3. Brigita Brezovac
4. Debi Laszewski
5. Alina Popa
6. Sheila Bleck
7. Kim Perez
8. Nicole Ball
9. Monique Jones
10. Tina Chandler
11. Kim Buck
12. Heather Foster
13. Cathy LeFrancois
14. Halle Nielsen
15. Skadi Frei-Seifert
16. Dayana Cadeau
17. Mah-Ann Mendoza

FITNESS

1. Adela Garcia
2. Tanji Johnson
3. Myriam Capes
4. Tina Durkin
5. Oksana Grishina
6. Michelle Blank
7. Bethany Cisternino
8. Jodi Boam
9. Camala Rodriguez
10. Nicole Duncan
11. Diana Paula-Monteiro
12. Regiane Da Silva
13. Kizzy Vaines

BIKINI

1. Nicole Nagrani
2. Nathalia Melo
3. Dianna Dahlgren
4. Jaime Baird
5. Sonia Gonzales
6. India Paulino
7. Alison Rosen
8. Juliana Daniell
9. Abigail Burrows
10. Justine Munro
11. Diana Graham
12. Natalie Pennington
13. Christina Vargas
14. Vanessa Prebyl
15. Cristina Vujnich
16. Barbara Bolotte
16. Candyce Graham
16. Cristy Mendivil
16. Dina Al-Sabah
16. Jennifer Drennan
16. Jennifer Andrews
16. Jessica Jessie
16. Kelly Gonzalez
16. Marisa Lee
16. Missy Coles
16. Nathalie Mur
16. Shelsea Montes
16. Vanessa Campbell

In 2010, Kyle held off Yaxeni Oriquen-Garcia at both the Ms. International and Ms. Olympia in two shows that could have went either way. We felt that Yaxeni bested Iris on both occasions and feel confident again in our prediction that the third time will be a charm.

OK, so here goes:

1 – Yaxeni Oriquen-Garcia

2 – Iris Kyle

3 – Debi Laszewski

4 – Isabel Turell

5 – Dyana Cadeau

6 – Cathy LeFrancois

Laszewski looked on point at the Ms. Olympia and took third in Vegas. We expect more of the same here. Then there is a big drop off in this light line-up. Turell did not compete last year after placing seventh at the 2009 Ms. I. Cadeau has been competing forever and is always in the mix for the top six. LeFrancois can place well here and should.

One wild card in this group may be Maria Rito Bello, who will be making her pro debut after winning the Arnold Amateur a year ago. She may be small in size but her conditioning can loom large.

Last March, Kyle somehow was able to prevail in the Ms. International (Arnold Classic), even though Yaxeni Oriquen-Garcia came into Ohio looking absolutely stunning. Judging is not an exact science, but it did appear that Oriquen-Garcia was more defined than Kyle. By winning five of the last six Ms. I shows, Kyle has been a tough competitor to say the least. In 2008, she came in off due to suffering an injury and fell all the way to seventh. Oriquen-Garcia won her fourth Ms. I that year.

Heading into the Ms. Olympia, it appeared that it would be a two-woman race once again. “I’m coming in in really good condition,” Oriquen-Garcia said the day before the contest. “I did my best and I’m ready to win.” As far as peaking in March or now, she commented, “I think now is my time. Iris is a great athlete, but we have totally different lines. Let’s see what the judges are looking for this year.”

Kyle and Oriquen-Garcia stood should-to-shoulder holding hands on the stage awaiting the announcement of the winner. Kyle’s reaction seemed to be one of relief and exuberance when she heard her name called and Oriquen-Garcia appeared disappointed but showed good sportsmanship. She knows how it feels to be champion, as she did in 2005 when she won the O, and will have to wait another year for the opportunity. But at 44, the window of opportunity may be starting to close for her.

Oriquen-Garcia has already stated that she will be competing at the Ms. International in 2011 and Kyle surely will be defending her title, so both women will have a chance to do it all over again.

“Twice we have been scheduled to fight now and twice he has suddenly gotten injured two weeks before the fight! If you’re scared to fight the War Machine, don’t sign on the dotted line,” Machine told Fighters.com (in the only printable portion of the interview: http://www.fighters.com/08/22/war-machine-versus-roger-bowling-cancelled-again-this-time-for-good).

Now Roger is calling out his nemesis, and MMA Big Show President/Promoter Jason Appleton is doing everything in his power to make the fight finally happen. “[speaking of War Machine] I’ll bump his win bonus by a grand, and pay him half his show money in advance. No excuses,” says Appleton. “[War Machine] makes it sound like Roger having to pull out due to an injury is somehow a big loss for him. The reality is, I set up the fight for him on XFC, and even though Roger is out, he still got an opportunity and a payday out of it [at the September 5^th event]. Now it’s time to settle this score between these two once and for all.”

Bowling is a serious blue-chip prospect whose career is gaining steam and garnering attention from the big leagues of MMA, and Appleton, who is also Bowling’s manager, set up a fight between “Relentless” and the outspoken fighter formerly known as Jon Koppenhaver for Big Show’s June 20^th “CONVICTION” event. Unfortunately, Bowling severely injured his hand before the fight, breaking his wrist and tearing a thumb tendon in a work-related accident. The fight was rescheduled for the September 5^th co-promotional effort between Florida’s Xtreme Fighting Championships and Big Show, but once again, fate intervened, and Bowling’s broken knuckles, suffered during his recent win, were deemed too serious injured by doctors for him to fight. Then the verbal jousting began.

“Relentless” has been quiet on the subject until now. “I feel horrible that I let my friends and family down. I had a lot of people with flights booked to Florida, people were planning entire vacations around this [last] fight. I really wanted to fight him anyway, but I am glad I have people around me that care enough to stop me from doing things I shouldn’t, because I would have fought him with one hand if I had to.” Bowling didn’t stop there: “It’s easy to talk trash about someone while saying you won’t fight them,” stated the champion.

Appleton takes it a step further: “I think War Machine was afraid of Roger going into the fight, and he’s using Roger’s injury as an excuse to never have to fight him in the future,” he explained. “I know he called around to the various gyms in the area trying to find out if Roger had any weaknesses, and then he tried to see if Roger would meet him at a 175 lbs. catch weight. War Machine tried everything. Point blank, War Machine knows he won’t beat Roger and this is the perfect opportunity for him to back out completely while trying to save face. If he wasn’t, he would be eager to get in there with Roger, not make excuses about why it will never happen.”

If you are interested in more information, or in sponsoring MMA Big Show, please contact Phil Lanides, Publicist

phil@fightofyourlife.com

(408) 439-3245

http://www.fightofyourlife.com/

The King needs no introduction and the eight-time Mr. Olympia champion has made overtures towards returning to the stage this September in Las Vegas. We will be sure to get into the details concerning this incredible news.

His official website is www.bigroncoleman.com.

MuscleSport Radio can be heard live every Tuesday from 1:00 to 2:00 PM Eastern time onwww.blogtalkradio.com and all episodes are archived on Blog Talk Radio, MuscleSport Mag and iTunes.

Please feel free to join us and give us your opinion, ask a question or make a comment. Our call-in number is 347-884-8157.

UPCOMING GUESTS

Centopani, 27, accomplished the feat in his first try after earning his pro card and did so not far from his home in Trumbull, Connecticut.

In the 202 class, Long Island resident Kevin English made it two in a row, besting Mark Dugdale and David Henry.

A deep line-up made Centopani’s victory even more impressive, as Dennis James, Markus Ruhl, Silvio Samuel, Hidetada Yamagishi and Tarek Elsetouhi rounded out the top six. In the women’s part of the contest, Betty Pariso, Rosemary Jennings, Debbie Bramwell, Dena Westerfield and Tazzie Columb all placed.

We are going to reschedule his appearance and will announce the new date as soon as possible. 

The King needs no introduction and the eight-time Mr. Olympia champion has made overtures towards returning to the stage this September in Las Vegas. We will be sure to get into the details concerning this incredible news. 

His official website is www.bigroncoleman.com.

MuscleSport Radio can be heard live every Tuesday from 1:00 to 2:00 PM Eastern time onwww.blogtalkradio.com and all episodes are archived on Blog Talk Radio, MuscleSport Mag and iTunes. 

Please feel free to join us and give us your opinion, ask a question or make a comment. Our call-in number is 347-884-8157.

UPCOMING GUESTS

Tuesday April 28, 1-2 PM – Legendary bodybuilder Dan Lurie

Tuesday May 5, 1-2 PM – Former NFL offensive lineman Tony Mandarich

Other contestants who made the trek with Kai from Ohio to the ‘Land Down Under’ were Silvio Samuel and Toney Freeman, who finished in second and third place, respectively.

According to early reports out of Melbourne, the crowd in was fully behind Kai, especially when he performed his unique posing routine that he made an instant classic at the Arnold. He was called an “easy winner.”

A special part of the annual show in Australia is when the contestants walk into the crowd following the posedown, giving them a close-up view of the men they just cheered on. No doubt that Greene had more flashes going off in his face than anyone else present.

On a side note, Michael Kafalianos finished in fourth place in his professional debut and has qualified for the Mr. Olympia.

Then when Cutler was unseated this past September by Dexter Jackson, the word was that the former champion did not even deserve second place.

There was even some talk before the Olympia that Cutler was possibly leaning towards retirement because he and his wife wanted to start a family. Perhaps if he did win, that may have been the case.

Not resting on his laurels, Cutler is looking to change things up in the hope of improving. According to an article on FlexOnline, he has been using Haney Rambod’s fst-7 training method since the beginning of December.

“I felt I needed change,” Cutler said in the article. “I want to emphasize my weaker bodyparts, and I felt since I was a volume trainer that the 7s would work best for me.”

Rambod plans to meet with Cutler a few times a month and has also trained Phil Heath, who finished third in his initial Olympia competition. Rambod feels that the Cutler and heath can both benefit from training together.

Going by Jackson’s victory, it is possible that the judges may be getting away from that ‘freaky’ or ‘blocky’ look, hence the reason for Cutler to get rounder in certain areas. With the mass that he already possesses, he can cut down slightly and tighten up the spots that have been knocked, such as his back and abdominal area.

If Cutler does in fact find himself in the winner’s circle again, he will become the first person to win back the Sandow after a defeat.