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 top six resembled the one in Las Vegas in more ways, with Dexter Jackson being the one exception. ‘The Blade’ sat this show out, so Toney Freeman moved up from seventh at the O to sixth here. Kai Greene (third), Victor Martinez (fourth) and Dennis Wolf (fifth) placed the same.

The big names in bodybuilding will now enter a much deserved offseason in anticipation for an action packed 2012. In March, of course, the Arnold Classic takes place and we surely will see the likes of Martinez, Wolf and Freeman. But there will be questions if Greene will compete in Ohio again.  It seems a given that Cutler and Heath will choose to prepare year round for the Olympia.

The final placings at the IFBB Sheru Classic were as follows:

1- Phil Heath

2- Jay Cutler

3- Kai Greene

4- Victor Martinez

5- Dennis Wolf

6- Toney Freeman

7- Michael Kefalianos

8- Alfonso Del Rio Valencia

9- Mohammed Touri

10- Ntuk Sunday

11- Varinder Singh Ghuman

“I’m actually happy right now,” Cutler said with a smile as he congratulated Heath on the win.

Overcome with emotion, Heath reveled in being congratulated by the other nine finalists and then brought up a story when he first met Cutler backstage at a local bodybuilding show. “I was playing college basketball back then…all scrawny and I saw (Cutler) walk by and I thought to myself, ‘That’s one big dude,’” recalled Heath.

Heath becomes the 13th man to win the Sandow and prevented Cutler from joining an elite group with five or more titles (Lee Haney, Dorian Yates, Ron Coleman).

Rounding out the top 10 were Kai Greene, Victor Martinez, Dennis Wolf, Dexter Jackson, Toney Freeman, Brandon Curry, Ronny Rockel and Hidetada Yamagishi.

Nicole Wilkins reclaimed the Figure Olympia title she lost to Erin Stern in 2010, with Stern taking the runner-up spot and Ava Cowan placing third.

OFFICIAL RESULTS – MEN’S OPEN

It’s will be hard to argue if “The Gift” gets the nod, as he is showing improvements from 12 months ago. The same cannot be said of the defending title holder. Cutler appeared to be a little drier in 2010, but a day can make a big difference in bodybuilding. We will see tomorrow night.

Kai Greene, Dexter Jackson, Victor Martinez and Dennis Wolf were also in the first call-out and that should be the top six in no particular order. Greene is a little bloated but looks massive and he should be able to place third. The rest can be interchangeable.

On Saturday evening, we will find out if Cutler can win his fifth Sandow or become the first Olympia champion to be defeated on two separate occasions.

The figure competition is also on tap, where Nicole Wilkins-Lee and Erin Stern have chiseled out a great rivalry. Here is the full line-up:

FIGURE

Alea Suarez
Alicia Harris
Ann Titone
Ava Cowan
Candice Keene
Candice John
Chelsea Morgenstern
Cheryl Brown
Courtney West
Darlene Escano
Deena Walsh
Ella Horton
Erin Stern
Felicia Romero
Gennifer Strobo
Heather Dees
Holly Beck
Jami DeBernard
Jelena Abbou
Krissy Chin
Kristen Nagrani
Larissa Reis
Latisha Wilder
Michele Mayberry
Monica Specking
Natalie Waples
Nicole Wilkins
Raechelle Chase
Teresa Anthony

Also included in that was another Most Muscular Award for Warren and he brought a package to the stage that was his best. Not only did he look hard and dry, but Warren was proportioned from his traps to his calves.

Dennis Wolf continued his amazing upward trend by placing second and appeared even tighter than he did at last year’s Olympia. A mild surprise with third place came when Victor Martinez (a past winner of the Arnold but who has been slightly off the past few years due to injury and personal tragedy) heard Evan Centopani’s name called out for fourth place. The youngster from Connecticut appeared headed for the top three at pre-judging but the Dominican Dominator did come in sharp.

Another former winner in Ohio placed fifth, as Dexter Jackson’s smaller physique was symmetrical enough to keep him in the top six. Ronny Rockel rounded out the group and looked impressive, as usual. He probably deserved better, but no one can deny the German’s physique – diminutive or not.

Johnnie Jackson came in looking better than he has in a while and placed seventh, the spot that Roelly Winklaar (eighth) found himself in last March. Toney Freeman and Ben Pakulski also made the top 10.

Another person receiving a warm welcome was Evan Centopani, who is competing in only his third pro show and first Arnold. He recently won the FLEX Pro and still appears sharp, but Dennis Wolf (who placed fourth at the FLEX) looks to have better conditioning here than he did in California, and that may be enough to get him past the young Centopani.

Dexter Jackson looks smaller than he has in the past but still is in great shape. Victor Martinez looks much better than he did at the 2010 Mr. Olympia but is not as hard as he used to be. Ronny Rockel looks really good as usual but once again it appears his diminutive stature will work against him when faced with such a big line-up. He deserves better.

Roelly Winklaar looks good, but not in the top six. Johnnie Jackson appears thick and hard. Toney Freeman doesn’t look as good as he did in September.

This is the way we see it turning out with pre-judging behind us:

1 – Branch Warren

2 – Dennis Wolf

3 – Evan Centopani

4 – Victor Martinez

5 – Ronny Rockel

6 – Dexter Jackson

We feel that Rockel is much better than both Victor and Dexter, but he will probably not get the nod over the larger Dominican Dominator.

For the men, we will have a new champion with two-time winner Kai Greene choosing to sit this one out. Will someone such as Victor Martinez or Dexter Jackson reclaim the title? Or will Branch Warren transcend his Most Muscular Awards into first place?

Evan Centopani will definitely receive more than a few looks with his recent FLEX Pro Championship win. This will be only his third pro show, with success following Centopani in both previous contests. Dennis Wolf has been on point in his last two shows and Ronny Rockel’s improvements are unquestionable. Roelly Winklaar was an unknown at this time last year before finishing seventh at the Arnold in his maiden professional outing. By winning the 2010 New York Pro, he has made himself someone to be highly considered in every show he competes in.

Here is how we see it turning out:

1 – Branch Warren

2 – Dexter Jackson

3 – Evan Centopani

4 – Dennis Wolf

5 – Ronny Rockel

6 – Fouad Abiad

7 – Roelly Winklaar

8 – Victor Martinez

9 – Toney Freeman

10 – Sergey Shelestov

Warren has been so close at the two major shows and seems to be well-liked by the judges in Ohio. With Greene and Phil Heath dropping out, the Texas native should be able to hold off what is still a fairly deep line-up. Jackson looked good in finishing second at the FLEX and should squeak by Centopani this time. The judges panel may lean towards the veteran here.

Wolf has made a successful comeback with a good showing at the ’09 Olympia and again at the FLEX, so we like him to make the top six in Columbus. The diminutive Rockel sometimes gets overlooked, but gets another feather in his cap here. Abiad took third at the FLEX and made some big gains to get there. He is our surprise name in the top six.

Winklaar had a banner rookie campaign and can definitely duplicate that. Should he do better than the same place as last year? Depending on a few things, he can certainly bump himself up a spot or two. Winklaar hasn’t competed since September and someone as inexperienced as him may need a year or two to figure out the timing of everything in the pro circuit.

‘The Dominican Dominator’ has not done that much of late and we expect Martinez’s descent to continue this weekend. He doesn’t seem to have the same intensity as he once did but with so much pure talent and ability, Martinez may surprise us and we would be only too happy to eat our words. The sport is more interesting with a top conditioned Martinez on the stage.

A rough offseason could effect the X-Man in a detrimental way. Freeman’s trouble’s in Europe – although not totally his fault – may have set his schedule back. Plus he also tested positive for marijuana and that cannot bode well for someone training for an upcoming contest. (I don’t care how many months out that incident was; smoking weed and bodybuilding should not ever be mixed.)

Shelestov and Jackson are always looking good and either should be able to sneak into the top 10. We like Shelestov to be the one.

This changes the playing field ten-fold. Wolf resuscitated his career back in September by placing fifth at the Mr. Olympia and Centopani has been bulking up since winning the 2009 New York Pro in his maiden pro voyage. Both will bring a great presence to the stage out west and the results here may set up a very interesting Arnold Classic a few weeks later.

Both Wolf and Centopani have already stated that they intend on being in Columbus, Ohio for the second most prestigious contest on the bodybuilding calendar and they will be joined by other big names such as Branch Warren, Victor Martinez, Ronny Rockel and Roelly Winklaar.

Will Wolf and Centopani (and to a lesser extent, Shelestov and Abiad) have a leg up on the competition? Or will their participation in a contest so close to the Arnold be detrimental? You can look at it two ways – they can tweak their physiques in the time between the two shows and perfect them. Or they can peak in February and have trouble getting dried out again.

Either way, the FLEX Pro just became a much more interesting event with the addition of two popular names.

2011 FLEX PRO COMPETITOR LIST (as of 1/7/11)

Fouad Abiad
Grigori Atoyan
Robert Belisle
Evan Centopani
Stan Efferding
Wendell Floyd
Dan Hill
Dexter Jackson
Ben Pakulski
Ben White

The announcement of his name at the end of the show was still nearly three hours away, but Cutler appeared cool and confident each time he came under the bright lights. He certainly had a few things to worry about, especially from someone so close to him.

“Phil Heath is my best friend in bodybuilding,” said Cutler, “and he’s starting to catch up to me.”

The man known as The Gift sure is and took the runner-up spot behind his confidant and mentor. Branch Warren, who finished second last year, placed third. Dexter Jackson may have seen his best days already, but The Blade proved that he has plenty left in the tank, placing fourth.

The next two were very interesting. Dennis Wolf completed a shocking comeback by finishing fifth after not even placing in 2009. A beaming Wolf said upon his exit from the arena, “It was good for me.” And Ronny Rockell, who has been coming closer and closer each time, joined the top six for the first time. Kai Greene was lucky to take seventh with his roundness and Victor Martinez – who was in danger of dropping out of the top 10 after pre-judging – came in harder at the Finals and placed eighth. Both were unpopular decisions with the crowd, but were the right ones, nonetheless. Rounding out the top 10 were Toney Freeman and Hidetada Yamagishi.

In the 202 Showdown, Kevin English and David Henry took their rivalry to a new level. Henry appeared to have better definition but English had him in size. These two men just do not like each another and displayed as much on the side of the stage by not even acknowledging the other as they stood side-by-side waiting for the official announcement. It was apparent by his reaction that Henry was greatly disappointed. Eduardo Correa finished in third, Jose Raymond fourth, Jason Arntz fifth and Jaroslav Horvath sixth.

In the Figure Olympia, Nicole Wilkins Lee was unable to repeat as champion and Erin Stern took home the crown.

***We hate to brag, but we nailed the top six dead on after prejudging. Too bad Vegas doesn’t have a sports book for the O.

Photo by Francesco Pillari.

In the men’s open pre-judging, it appears to be Jay Cutler again. The local boy received the loudest ovation from the crowd and he appears even more conditioned than last year. Phil Heath is still very young so he will have his day, but for now ‘The Gift’ will have to be content with the runner-up position. Branch Warren, who took second last September, was on point and could very well finish there again, but he should be top 3 either way. 2008 Mr. Olympia Dexter Jackson seems to be in  the fourth position, going by the call-outs. Then it gets really interesting…

Ronny Rockell – who we have been touting as a top 6 competitor since the Arnold – may make us look smart tomorrow evening. The German looked fantastic and was part of the top call-outs. Then the biggest surprise of the night heard his name in the second call-out. Dennis Wolf, who did not even place a year ago, appears much more drier then he has recently and may creep into the top 6. Timing is everything and even when we interviewed Big Bad Wolf last night at the “Meet The Olympians” he had that bloated look and appeared to be carrying too much fluids. He told us that he prepared for this show by himself without the help of a guru or a nutritionist and the results speak for themselves.

Some disappointments were Kai Greene and Victor Martinez. Both did not look as good as they did last time on this same stage and Charles Glass, Greene’s former trainer, was heard afterwards saying that he felt sorry for him.

A few of the IFBB officials were saying that many of the competitors were dehydrating backstage. The competition is so tight that is understandable.

MuscleSport Mag’s Top 6 Prediction:

1 – Jay Cutler

2 – Phil Heath

3 – Branch Warren

4 – Dexter Jackson

5 – Dennis Wolf

6 – Ronny Rockel