🏆 The Egyptian king: Big Ramy’s road to two Sandows
Photo: Hany Pink / Wikimedia Commons — Big Ramy pictured hours before the 2020 Mr. Olympia, the show that made him champion.
Mamdouh “Big Ramy” Elssbiay was born in Egypt in 1984, and his rise was startlingly fast. He earned his pro card by winning the 2012 Amateur Olympia, then announced himself to the world in New York.
His pro debut came at the 2013 New York Pro, and he won it outright, beating seasoned star Victor Martinez into second place. He defended that New York title in 2014, and from there the only prize left was the biggest one.
That prize took time. Ramy spent years as the sport’s great “what if” — a man with size nobody could match, still searching for the conditioning to go with it. Then, in 2020, everything clicked, and he won the Mr. Olympia.
He did it again in 2021, becoming a two-time champion and the first Egyptian ever to hold bodybuilding’s top title. For two years, the biggest man in the sport was also its best.
The reign ended at the 2022 Mr. Olympia, where Ramy finished fifth as Hadi Choopan took the crown. His last contest to date came a few months later, at the 2023 Arnold Classic in Columbus, Ohio, where he placed fourth behind winner Samson Dauda.
That date matters for this comparison. When Ramy walked off the Columbus stage in March 2023, the man he is compared with here had not yet turned professional.
🦖 A decade later: Neckzilla arrives in Prague
Photo: Islam Fahmy / Wikimedia Commons — Big Ramy pictured in 2017, midway through the decade gap between the two debuts.
Rubiel “Neckzilla” Mosquera is a Colombian mass monster whose nickname came before his trophies did. His neck and traps give him one of the most recognisable silhouettes in the sport, and fans were sharing his pictures long before he won a professional show.
He built his name on the South American amateur scene, then crossed over to the IFBB Pro League route — the only road to the Mr. Olympia. In November 2023, exactly a decade after Ramy’s New York breakthrough, Mosquera won the EVLS Prague Pro-Amateur and earned his pro card.
What happened next made the weekend legendary. Less than a day later, Mosquera stepped straight into the professional EVLS Prague Pro and finished third, behind Samson Dauda and Michal Krizanek and ahead of established star Nathan De Asha.
It was one of the great pro debuts of recent years — but it also underlines the central fact of this article. Ramy’s last contest had been eight months earlier, in a different country, at a different show. The two men have never stood on the same stage.
Mosquera’s early pro years were stop-start. A planned appearance at the 2024 Arnold Classic fell away over visa problems, before he could even compete. He kept building, though, and 2025 changed everything.
That summer he won the Flex Weekend Italy Pro in Milan, beating Andrea Presti for his first professional victory and his first Olympia qualification. One week later he won again, taking the Mr. Big Evolution Pro in Portugal. Two pro wins in eight days.
In October 2025 he made his Mr. Olympia debut in Las Vegas and placed 15th in a deep Men’s Open line-up. It was a genuine foothold on the sport’s biggest stage — and a reminder of how far he still has to climb to match Ramy’s two Sandows.
⚖️ The honest verdict: no winner, just two different mountains
Photo: Hany Pink / Wikimedia Commons — Big Ramy pictured before the 2020 Mr. Olympia.
So who wins a head-to-head between Big Ramy and Rubiel Mosquera? Honestly, nobody can say — because it never happened, and a fantasy posedown is not a result.
What can be compared is the shape of two careers. Ramy’s case rests on the highest peak: two Mr. Olympia titles, won against the deepest fields of his era, plus back-to-back New York Pro wins at the very start of his journey.
Mosquera’s case rests on speed and freak factor. He went from pro card to pro podium in a single weekend, then to two pro wins and an Olympia debut within two years. His legs and neck have drawn comparisons with Ramy himself — high praise from people who watched both men up close.
The gap between them is also a story of timing. Ramy reached the summit and then faded from the stage; Mosquera arrived just as Ramy was leaving it. One career was closing as the other opened, which is exactly why fans keep pairing them.
Both men know the other side of the mountain, too. Ramy has not competed since March 2023, and in April 2026 he said plainly of a comeback: “I don’t think I’ll be back.” He has made no formal retirement announcement, but he has effectively ruled out a return and turned his focus to his business.
Mosquera, meanwhile, had umbilical hernia surgery in December 2025 and was cleared to train again after about three months. He did not contest the 2026 Mr. Olympia, and his reported target is a full comeback in 2027 — a target to watch, not a promise to bank on.
Their stories also belong to a wider tradition of mass monsters who pushed the sport’s limits, the kind of careers celebrated in The Lifelong Battle. And Mosquera’s breakthrough summer echoes another fast riser of the same era, Andrew Jacked, who also went from newcomer to contender in a hurry.
Did Big Ramy and Rubiel Mosquera ever compete against each other? No. Ramy’s most recent contest was the 2023 Arnold Classic in March 2023; Mosquera turned pro in November 2023. Their careers do not overlap on any show.
Who has won more? Ramy, by a distance that is not close: two Mr. Olympia titles against Mosquera’s two regular-season pro wins and a 15th place on his Olympia debut.
Could Mosquera still close the gap? Only time and health will tell. He is younger, his size is freakish even by Open standards, and his 2025 breakthrough proved the hype was real. But two Sandows is a mountain few climbers ever reach.
That is the real meaning of a decade apart. Ramy showed what the mass-monster ideal looks like at its peak. Mosquera is showing what it looks like at the start — and whether he reaches the same summit is the most interesting open question in the Men’s Open division.