by Christian Duque
Many bodybuilding fans have been writing all over the message boards and Facebook groups asking this very question. And actually quite a few readers of Iron Magazine have contacted me through my Instagram and X accounts asking me what my thoughts are on The Persian Wolf taking back the Sandow in just a few months in Las Vegas. I don’t for a second think he doesn’t have a good chance especially after having won the Arnold Classic earlier this year in Columbus, Ohio. I think that Hadi has a tremendous physique and was able to do things that very few others could. Long before Derek, Hadi made the decision to cross over and fight for the top title. This is no small achievement.
For years he was considered to be a top challenger to the Welsh Dragon Flex Lewis and although he could never beat Lewis he set his sights on a title far bigger and far more prestigious title – the open Mr Olympia. There was a year where he won the people’s award but didn’t win the title. There was another year where he did. And there was another year when he took second. He has experienced defeat, victory, and now he is on the verge of quite possibly becoming the second man in 60 years of Olympia history to win back the Sandow. I think that the circumstances that allowed for Jay to win in 2009 were quite apparent. He lost the title to a competitor that while very good would not have been able to beat him at his prime. That is no disrespect to Dexter Jackson but I think we can all agree that Jay Cutler was off in 2008 and he was arguably off in 2007. He had just come off of a long run battling the greatest bodybuilder of all time in Ronnie Coleman. In 2006 he deserved the win but by 2007 he became bored with the sport. When he put everything into coming back and winning the title in 2009 the writing was on the wall. The title was his for the taking. Can we say the same thing in 2024 about Hadi?
Well that really depends because a lot of fans don’t believe that Hadi should have lost the title to begin with. They believe that he looked good enough to win in 2023 and should have been able to have done just that. What does that even mean, good enough to win?
Well if you know the history of bodybuilding and you know the way that the Olympia is judged, there is sort of an unspoken rule or not really a rule, more like an unspoken tradition, that in order to beat the champion you have to knock him out. This is something that we saw with Lee Haney, this is something we saw with Dorian, something that we saw with Ronnie and something that we thought we would see with any reigning champion. Phil took advantage of this as well.
My goodness Phil should have lost in 2016 long before 2018 but he didn’t because nobody really truly knocked him out. Rhoden had him beat in 2016 but did he knock him out? Even though I was a huge fan of the late great Shawn Flexatron Rhoden, I don’t believe he knocked him out in 2016 although he did deserve the win. And we even saw it with Ramy. Ramy should not have won in 2021 but he did. So again why was The Persian Wolf not a benefactor of such a long running tradition?
Some argue that Derek was the chosen one. Chosen by whom? Well that probably takes us into various different areas of conversation. We all know that politics play a role but we don’t really want to get into all that with this article. Let’s try to stay focused. Yes I realize Derek got a special invite and yes I realize that he won the show that he got that special invite to. It was basically a repeat of 2020. Do I agree with that way of getting to the Olympia? Absolutely not, I think it reeks of politics and show rigging. Can I prove it? Of course I can’t. I just think it looks really suspect. But in any event however he got there, he got there, and he walked away with the win. That being said, many fans of Hadi believe that Derek won by the skin of his teeth and given that reality, it means that Hadi could come back and win the title back. And the fact that he won the Arnold Classic earlier this year, I think cements his position as the number one contender.
Hadi is the number one contender because he was second at last year’s Mr Olympia and because he took the Arnold Classic victory earlier this year. He is also the number one contender because the winner of the third largest bodybuilding show, the New York Pro, was won in a very bizarre kind of way. Most bodybuilding fans that understand the sport and understand the criteria that goes into the score cards would argue that Martin Fitzwater should have won the New York Pro. Nick Walker has the title but he doesn’t have the respect. Therefore in my opinion he is not a challenger for that number one contender spot. He isn’t a contender because the New York Pro is the third largest bodybuilding show and because he didn’t do last year’s Mr Olympia, but he is even more so not the number one contender because of the fact that I believe politics played a major role in him winning the third biggest bodybuilding show just a couple of months ago.
Samson is another guy that comes to mind because he took second to Hadi at the Arnold and because he has won against Nick at the New York Pro but he didn’t win this year. Therefore I don’t really consider Samson to have a legitimate claim to that number one contender position, either. The only person that that distinction belongs to is Hadi.
Now being the number one Contender does not solidify your chances of winning the title. Being the number one Contender doesn’t amount to a hill of beans if you don’t come in razor sharp and ready to go to the biggest bodybuilding stage on the planet. but the fact that he was able to win the Arnold Classic does suggest that he is a very serious contender and should be feared.
When Big Ramy did the Arnold Classic the year after he lost the O, he went from 5th place at the Olympia to 5th place at the Arnold against lesser quality guys. As a result of that he didn’t do the Olympia that year and basically has entered into semi-retirement. The fact that Hadi was able to redeem himself just a couple of months later in Columbus, Ohio, means the fire beneath him has been lit, and everyone should steer clear of him when he hits the stage in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Now the question is can he or will he win the title back?
That’s an interesting question because of the fact that he didn’t really do very much with the title when he had it. He didn’t grow the sport. He didn’t tour the world. He wasn’t overly active on social media, either. And then the question becomes do we want an ambassador like that to the world again?
The reigning Mr Olympia is bodybuilding’s ambassador to the world. Even though some competitors think that that is just a bunch of hot air, it’s not. When you look back at the history of the sport and you look at the Master Blaster himself, Joe Weider, that was everything the Olympia was about for him. Mr Olympia was supposed to be the face of the sport. He was supposed to be bigger and more accessible than the Mr Universe or the Mr world. He was supposed to be the man. He was supposed to be the poster-boy for muscle and fitness.
Hadi falls considerably short of that bar. And I don’t think he even ever tried to reach that level of publicity during his reign. He basically went back to Iran, trained in his hole in the wall gym, ate his meals and went about his business. Even though that may have worked in the 90s with Dorian it certainly does not work today in the era of social media. And maybe if he had won the title after Brandon it would not have been so infuriating, but after 2 years of Ramy, I think one year of Hadi was all that was needed for them to want to get rid of him.
Because that’s just it, many fans do not believe that Hadi was off at the 2023 Olympia. And not only do they not believe he was off they don’t believe he should have lost. The reality of the matter is Derek has done so much more for the sport and has grown it so much more – by leaps and bounds – that it doesn’t even warrant comparing him to Hadi. That being said, as important as being a good ambassador may be, it should not decide who is and who is not Mr Olympia. Can Hadi out muscle Derek? Absolutely. Can Hadi out condition Derek? Absolutely. Can Hadi out pose Derek? Absolutely. Therefore in my opinion, Hadi has a legitimate chance of making history in just a few short months in Las Vegas!!
Now the question for you, the loyal readers of Iron Magazine, what say you? Will history be made in Las Vegas? As always, thanks for reading my article, here, at Iron Magazine. I look forward to reading your feedback in the comments.
