Being held since November 7 on immigration issues, Martinez had little choice but to step aside at this time. In fact, he may find himself actually deported back to his home country of the Dominican Republic if a federal judge makes that decision on January 6. The government has to either release him, deport him or charge him with a crime within 90 days of being detained.

The trouble began for Martinez, 38, when he returned from the IFBB Arnold Europe on October 11. He actually won the show and has seen his career on a huge upswing after a brief lull. His green card had apparently expired and Martinez failed to apply for a new one. Coupled with the fact that he has been convicted of a felony in the past, this spelled disastrous as Martinez found himself in front of a United States Customs agent at the airport.

At an earlier hearing, the judge denied Martinez bail and ordered him back to his 6 X 8 cell in New York.

The 2007 Arnold Classic champion will have to straighten out his immigration status and hopefully will have that opportunity while living in the US. With the start of the IFBB contest season nearly upon us, Martinez will need extra time to get back into shape with this unexpected span of inactivity and no choice of what his diet consists of. The best case scenario is that he misses three months, and even that is a long stretch for a professional bodybuilder to have no control over his daily life.

The entire sport of bodybuilding awaits the announcement of Martinez’s fate next month. If deportation occurs, he would still be able to compete at overseas shows, but the ‘Big Two’ of the Arnold and Olympia will have to wait until Martinez either applies for another green card or citizenship.

VICTOR MARTINEZ – CONTEST HISTORY

‘The Predator’ fell from fourth place in his inaugural Olympia the year before to a disappointing seventh and the two-time Arnold Classic champion took a beating from the critics. In their defense, the Brooklyn, New York native did come in out of shape and had a distended midsection that was noticeable by everyone, including the judges.

Greene sat out this year’s Arnold – a strange decision but one that makes sense in some ways – to concentrate on the O. He seemed to peak earlier in the year since 2009 at the Arnold but now has changed his strategy to get it together six months later. If he knows that he has one shot every 12 months to do some damage, then it would seem wise to move up and go after the big prize.

having already dominated in Columbus, Greene’s career will be completed with at least one Olympia win. But that seemed as unlikely as Barry Bonds eventually being inducted into the Hall of Fame last September. Perhaps the best thing that could have happened to Greene was the shock of a bad showing on bodybuilding’s biggest stage.

There is a lot of pressure on him as far as quieting the critics and putting himself back on the map. Greene’s name has hardly been mentioned and no one is expecting him to be a factor at the Orleans Arena. But he can pull off a stunner and break into the top three by putting together a presentation like the one in Ohio the night he won his first Arnold.

The line-up for the O is stacked with Cutler, Phil Heath, Dennis Wolf, Branch Warren, Ronny Rockel and so many others, so Greene has his work cut out for him. His work ethic has come into question but that would seem ridiculous when you see Greene at his best. He has arguably the best back in the sport and brings a flair that is unmatched to the stage. Greene needs at least a top six placing to get back into the pack but anyone who counts him out of the top three this early has obviously forgotten how much of a difference he made not too long ago.

KAI GREENE’S CONTEST HISTORY

2005 New York Pro – 14th

2006 Iron Man Pro – NP

2006 a Ray Colorado Pro – 14th

2007 New York Pro – 6th

2007 Keystone Pro – 3rd

2007 Colorado Pro – 1st

2008 Arnold Classic – 3rd

2008 New York Pro – 1st

2009 Arnold Classic – 1st

2009 Australian Pro Grand Prix – 1st

2009 Mr. Olympia – 4th

2010 Arnold Classic – 1st

2010 Australian Pro Grand Prix – 1st

2010 Mr. Olympia – 7th

If the judges feel that Cutler has come into the show as good or better than he looked last September, then he will in all likelihood win his fourth Sandow trophy in five years. But Greene brings something extra to the table in showmanship and has become a fan favorite almost overnight. Prior to the 2009 Arnold, his name didn’t immediately conjure up thoughts of big wins, but the Brooklyn, New York native blew everyone away with a physique and posing routine that will go down in history as one of the most unique of all time.

At the 2009 Olympia, Greene did not look as sharp and took fourth in his first attempt at the Sandow. He obviously peaked earlier in the year and will try to use that to his advantage this time around. He knows what didn’t work then and will do his best to change that 12 months later.

Bodybuilding fans know that Greene will be be a force on stage. It depends on if the judges feel the same way.

“In Bodybuilding, the posing routine will no longer be scored. This will value the Prejudging and Finals Posedown at 50% each,” was listed as one of the rule changes included as part of the IFBB Advisory Notice 101409 prepared by Chairman Jim Manion. (http://www.ifbbpro.com/news/advisory-notice-101409/)

This may be viewed as a step backwards for a sport that has been finding the terrain difficult growing from its hardcore fan base. Back in its heyday, bodybuilding could promote many superstars who were classic posers. Men such as Arnold Schwarzenegger, Ed Corney, Frank Zane and Chris Dickerson made it an art form. But that has not been the case since the end of the 1980s.

With the new rule, competitors will no incentive to even prepare a posing routine and that will do the fans a disservice. As it was, there were only  few who even appeared as if they worked out a presentation. One of the reasons why Kai Greene made such a splash on the scene was because of his unique and incredible posing routine. Hopefully the 2009 Arnold Classic champion will not just go through the motions knowing that his score cannot be improved even though he is head and shoulders above the rest of the pack as a poser.

“Everyone wrote me off,” he said on stage right after the announcement. “It’s a huge achievement for me. At 36 there’s a lot of gas left in the tank for me.” Cutler speculated about winning a fourth Sandow, but followed that up by saying he wanted to enjoy this one first.

The defending champion, Dexter Jackson, fell to third place while Branch Warren, who appeared to be in fantastic condition at the pre-judging, finished as the runner-up, a huge accomplishment for him. 2009 Arnold Classic champion Kai Greene placed fourth, a bit of a surprise as he was said to be a sure-bet top three candidate. Phil Heath did not have nearly the same physique that he brought to the desert a year ago and fell from third to fifth. The 29-year-old nearly had to drop out of the contest due to a stomach illness that he suffered on Friday and lost a lot of traction during the pre-judging that he could not make up.

Although he had hoped for a better placing, Victor Martinez taking sixth should be viewed as a plus. The Dominican Dominator has had to come back from not only a serious knee injury but a family tragedy and it was quite an accomplishment for him just to be here, let alone make the top six.

Rounding out the top 10 were:

7th – Ronny Rockel – came in to the show better than he ever looked and could have easily slipped into the top six

8th – Toney Freeman – The X-Man went from fifth to eighth and at 43 does not have many more chances

9th – Hidetada Tamagashi – A great placing for the youngster from Japan. A rising star in this sport.

10th – Moe El Mouussawi – Another undeserved top 10 finish for him