Bodybuilding judging is subjective. That is not an insult, it is the nature of the sport. 🏋️
There is no finish line, no stopwatch, and no scoreboard that settles an argument on the night. There are judges, poses, and opinions, and sometimes those opinions split a room in half.
This list collects ten Mr. Olympia results that fans still argue about decades later. For each one, you get the same three things in the same order.
First, the official result, as it stands in the record books. Second, why so many fans and commentators disputed it. Third, the counter-view, because every one of these calls had people defending it too.
Nothing here is presented as proven theft. A “robbery” in this article means a decision large numbers of fans believe was wrong, not a fact the sport has overturned. The trophies stayed where the judges put them. The arguments did not.
1. 1972 Mr. Olympia: Arnold Schwarzenegger vs. Sergio Oliva 🤔
Photo: Wikimedia Commons
Official result: 1st Arnold Schwarzenegger, 2nd Sergio Oliva, 3rd Serge Nubret, in Essen, West Germany.
Oliva had won the Olympia three years running, from 1967 to 1969, and had beaten Arnold in 1969. Arnold beat him in 1970, and Oliva missed the 1971 contest, so Essen in 1972 was the rematch everyone wanted.
The dispute case is simple, and it has lasted more than fifty years. Many who were there, and many who have studied the photos since, say Oliva arrived in the shape of his life, with a tiny waist and overwhelming mass, while Arnold was below his best.
The counter-view is that Arnold still had the structure, the posing, and the stage presence, and that a close contest is not the same as a wrong one. The judges voted 5–2 for Arnold, which is a clear margin even if the room disagreed.
Verdict among fans: still split. This is the original Olympia argument, and it never really ended.
2. 1980 Mr. Olympia: Arnold Schwarzenegger vs. Mike Mentzer and Frank Zane 😲
Photo: Wikimedia Commons
Official result: 1st Arnold Schwarzenegger, 2nd Chris Dickerson, 3rd Frank Zane, 4th Boyer Coe, 5th Mike Mentzer, in Sydney, Australia.
One detail matters here, so let us get it exactly right. Mentzer and Coe were tied on points for fourth place, but Mentzer was handed the fifth-place trophy, so the record books commonly list him fifth. That is the reconciled wording, not a bare “fourth”.
Arnold came out of retirement at short notice, saying he had been training for a film role, and won his seventh Olympia title. Many competitors and fans felt he was lighter and less conditioned than the men around him, and that Dickerson, Zane, and Mentzer all had a case.
The counter-view is that Arnold’s shape and posing still carried the day with the judges who mattered, and that surprise comebacks always look suspicious to the people they beat. Mentzer was so angry at fifth that he never competed again.
Verdict among fans: the most bitter Olympia of all, and the one that split the sport for years afterwards.
3. 1981 Mr. Olympia: Franco Columbu vs. Tom Platz and Danny Padilla 😤
Photo: Wikimedia Commons
Official result: 1st Franco Columbu, 2nd Chris Dickerson, 3rd Tom Platz, 4th Roy Callender, 5th Danny Padilla, in Columbus, Ohio.
Columbu, Arnold’s close friend and training partner, came out of retirement five years after his 1976 win and took the title again. The field was already weakened because Zane, Mentzer, and Coe stayed away after the 1980 fallout.
The dispute case is that Columbu’s legs and balance looked behind Platz’s famous leg development and Padilla’s symmetry, and that every man in the top five received at least one first-place vote from the seven judges, which tells you how scattered the judging was.
The counter-view is that there was no runaway winner that night at all, and that in a genuinely messy contest somebody has to finish first. Columbu was thick, hard, and a former champion, not a stranger to the stage.
Verdict among fans: often voted the worst-judged Olympia ever, though even its critics admit 1981 had no obvious perfect winner. Read the full story in our 1981 Mr. Olympia article.
4. 1994 Mr. Olympia: Dorian Yates vs. Shawn Ray 💪
Photo: Wikimedia Commons
Official result: 1st Dorian Yates, 2nd Shawn Ray, 3rd Kevin Levrone, in Atlanta, Georgia.
Yates arrived with a torn left biceps suffered weeks before the show, and the damage was visible. Ray, by contrast, brought a complete, balanced, aesthetic package that many fans consider his career best.
The dispute case is that an injured champion kept his title on mass and density alone, while the healthier, more symmetrical challenger went home second. It is one of the clearest “mass vs. aesthetics” arguments in Olympia history.
The counter-view is that Yates, even injured, still owned the back poses and the sheer density that had won him the previous two titles, and that one torn biceps does not erase an entire physique. Yates went on to win six Olympias in total, from 1992 to 1997, never eight.
Verdict among fans: Ray’s supporters still feel he was the rightful 1994 champion, while Yates’s supporters point to the back.
5. 1997 Mr. Olympia: Dorian Yates vs. Nasser El Sonbaty 🔥
Photo: Wikimedia Commons
Official result: 1st Dorian Yates, 2nd Nasser El Sonbaty, 3rd Shawn Ray, in Long Beach, California.
This was Yates’s sixth and final Olympia win, and he earned it hurt. He had torn his left triceps three weeks before the contest, and he retired from competition afterwards.
The dispute case is that El Sonbaty, round, full, and superbly conditioned from the front, looked like the fresher and more complete man on the night, and the crowd reaction said so. He became a people’s favourite precisely because so many fans scored it his way.
The counter-view is the classic Olympia line, and it has real weight: Olympias are won from the back, and Yates’s back remained the best in the sport even on a damaged arm. El Sonbaty himself never won an Olympia, despite years of trying.
Verdict among fans: one of the most passionately disputed runner-up finishes ever, and the night El Sonbaty became the sport’s great “uncrowned” champion in fans’ eyes.
6. 2001 Mr. Olympia: Ronnie Coleman vs. Jay Cutler 👑
Photo: Health Gauge, via Wikimedia Commons
Official result: 1st Ronnie Coleman, 2nd Jay Cutler, 3rd Kevin Levrone, in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Cutler had finished eighth in 2000, then arrived in 2001 transformed, and he actually led Coleman on points after prejudging. Coleman, chasing his fourth straight title, roared back in the finals to win by four points, 28 to 32.
The dispute case is that Cutler looked tighter and more balanced, that Coleman looked softer than usual, and that the prejudging lead made the finals reversal feel like a momentum decision for the reigning champion.
The counter-view is that finals exist for a reason, and Coleman improved when it counted, as champions tend to do. Cutler’s own career answers the rest: he went on to beat Coleman in 2006 and win four Olympias of his own.
A note on the old version of this article: it wrongly said Cutler was disqualified the following year and lost his prize money. The drug-test story belongs to the 2001 contest itself, both Cutler’s and Markus Rühl’s results were discarded when the testing laboratory was found to lack the proper accreditation, and the placings stood.
Verdict among fans: still the great “what if” of the Coleman era, and the night Cutler announced himself as a future champion.
7. 2007 Mr. Olympia: Jay Cutler vs. Victor Martinez ⚖️
Photo: Wikimedia Commons
Official result: 1st Jay Cutler, 2nd Victor Martinez, 3rd Dexter Jackson, in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Martinez arrived as the reigning Arnold Classic champion, in career-best shape, and pushed Cutler all the way. The final margin was four points, 28 to 32, not two points as the old version of this article claimed.
The dispute case is that Martinez looked sharper, more complete, and better proportioned, while Cutler looked flat at prejudging and carried a wider waist. Many fans and former champions scored it for Martinez.
The counter-view, put by respected journalists at the time, is that Cutler refilled and improved for the finals and won the show when it was decided, and that a close loss is not proof of a fix. Martinez himself has always spoken about Cutler with respect and has said he holds no ill will over the result.
Verdict among fans: one of the closest and most argued Olympia finals of the modern era. See also our Victor Martinez story.
8. 2014 Mr. Olympia: Phil Heath vs. Kai Greene 🎭
Photo: Ank Kumar, via Wikimedia Commons
Official result: 1st Phil Heath, 2nd Kai Greene, 3rd Shawn Rhoden, in Las Vegas, Nevada.
This was the third straight year Heath beat Greene, and their rivalry had turned genuinely heated, with a famous on-stage confrontation at prejudging. Greene brought extraordinary legs and conditioning, and his fans were convinced this was finally his year.
The dispute case is that Greene’s lower body and overall presentation topped Heath’s, and that Heath’s midsection, much criticised in later years, should have cost him. The crowd reaction when Heath was announced said plenty.
The counter-view, given by judges afterwards, is that Heath was simply the more complete package that night, with better flow, balance, and conditioning across the whole physique rather than in individual body parts. Heath went on to win seven Olympias, from 2011 to 2017.
Verdict among fans: Greene never competed at the Olympia again after 2014, which is why this one still stings for his supporters.
9. 2017 Mr. Olympia: Phil Heath vs. Big Ramy 🦁
Photo: Hany Pink, via Wikimedia Commons
Official result: 1st Phil Heath, 2nd Mamdouh “Big Ramy” Elssbiay, 3rd William Bonac, in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Heath’s seventh title tied Arnold Schwarzenegger’s total, and Ramy, climbing from eighth to seventh to fifth to fourth in his first four Olympias, finally reached second. He walked on stage holding up one finger before the contest, predicting the win.
The dispute case is that Ramy’s size, symmetry, and proportions that night made him look like the future of the sport, while Heath’s midsection again drew criticism in prejudging. Many fans scored it for Ramy.
The counter-view is that Heath’s back, taper, and finals improvement separated him when the judges made the final comparison, and that Ramy himself accepted second graciously and said Heath was the best bodybuilder in the world that night.
Verdict among fans: Heath’s last Olympia win, and the night Ramy proved he belonged at the very top, a promise he kept by winning the Olympia in 2020.
10. 2019 Mr. Olympia: Brandon Curry vs. William Bonac and Hadi Choopan 🌟
Photo: Tasnim News Agency, via Wikimedia Commons
Official result: 1st Brandon Curry, 2nd William Bonac, 3rd Hadi Choopan, in Las Vegas, Nevada.
This entry corrects the old version, which framed Choopan as the runner-up. He was third, behind Bonac in second, on his Olympia debut, and he also won the fans’ People’s Champion vote that night.
The dispute case is that Choopan, fresh from the 212 division, brought the deepest conditioning and one of the best midsections on stage, and that many fans scored him ahead of both men in front of him. Curry, the favourite, was also criticised for less detail in his lower body.
The counter-view is that Curry was the most complete big man across both prejudging and finals, that Bonac’s size earned him second fairly, and that a brilliant debut in third is not the same as a stolen title. Choopan answered the debate himself by winning the Olympia in 2022.
Verdict among fans: less a single “robbery” than a three-way argument, and the night the People’s Champion vote and the judges’ vote told different stories.
Why these arguments never die ❤️
Bodybuilding has no objective finish line, so every generation gets its own disputed Olympia. That is frustrating, and it is also why the sport stays alive in conversation for decades.
The fair way to enjoy these debates is to keep the record straight and the opinions honest. The official winners above are facts. Everything after the word “dispute” is how fans felt, and feelings, in this sport, are half the show.
So, which one do you still argue about? Tell us in the comments, and tell us who you scored first, not just who you think was robbed. 👇
Frequently asked questions
What is the most controversial Mr. Olympia of all time?
Most fans pick 1980 or 1981. In 1980, Arnold’s comeback win angered almost the whole field, while in 1981, Columbu’s win came in a contest where all five top men received a first-place vote from at least one judge.
Was any Mr. Olympia result ever overturned?
No result on this list was overturned. Placings have survived drug-test disputes, such as the discarded 2001 tests, and every champion listed here kept his title.
Who is the most famous “uncrowned” Mr. Olympia?
Nasser El Sonbaty is the name that comes up most, after his second place in 1997, with Victor Martinez in 2007 and Kai Greene in 2014 close behind in fan polls and debates.