Dorian in a long interview mentions Benaziza as one of the great pros of that era, and that he was quite happy getting second place at his pro debut.He had much respect for Benaziza.
Dorian weighed 228lbs for the 1990 Night of Champions, 235 for the 1991 NOC, 240 for the 1991 Olympia, 243 for the 1992 Mr. Olympia, 257 for the 1993 Mr. Olympia, etc. He was remarkable in his ability to improve once he reached a very high level. You will also note that in 1990-1991 Dorian still had ears that protruded very far. After the 1991 Olympia he had surgery to have his ears pinned back (Memos to Will Smith, Daniel Jacobs, etc.).
First and foremost, regarding Hedge sorry for your lost. I feel privileged to have seen Momo with my very own eyes. I was about 19 or 20 years old at a show as a spectator where Momo was guest posing and we were literally were in the men's restroom together.
I don't disagree with your outlook but everything cycles & the mass monster era is being threatened. How far is anyone's guess but William Bonac is the beginning of another era, coupled with the disgust being voiced towards out of proportion bloated muscles. I think if nothing else, guy like P.Heath are gonna realize they can't keep packing on size without blurring the lines. Peace.
Rip Momo Ben Aziza and many thanks for your great video ,thanks for reminding us this incredible champ ,always and forever will be in our hearts ...Rip Momo ...
The 90's - 2000's was the best era of bodybuilding. Guys were getting bigger but still had aesthetics. Dorian Yates Is my favorite bodybuilder I was a teen when he was winning his Olympias.
I think it’s the London real interview with Dorian he says after that loss he wanted to bring up his back to beat momos and well he did and made it arguably the best one ever 👉👌
Dorian is my favourite bb and I think this was one of his best shapes I really love it. His weight was 228 lbs at that show. He was really motivated to succeed after his loss to Momo. Respect to all of them.
The regression bodybuilding has undergone is insane. Who would look at a lineup of physiques like this and say any pro show today comes near to it in quality? It's like we've gone from Ferraris to Fords.
Momo Benaziza had a ridiculous amount of muscle mass, especially for that time. I remember reading an article in Muscle Mag about some contest in which he competed, and the writer commented that it was next to impossible to add another ounce of muscle to his frame.
Man I have been watching your videos a while and it always amazes me how you come up with new stuff to talk about and how knowledgeable you are. I always learn something and I enjoy the videos. Thanks brotato.
I've always liked Momo's physique..and Padillas for that matter..the small guys look more impressive alot of the time simply because they can't really play the size gane like the bigger/taller guys can..so they have to be on point as far as balance and conditioning..and I've never seen 1 of the short guys with a bubble gut..somw of my favorite bodybuilders ever were the shorter guys..like Padilla , and Lee Priest..not to mention the modern incarnation of the giant killer with William Bonac..and even Dexter..Also I think Yates looked way better before he really got up in size..the years leading up to and his first and second Mr.O win he looked great..I just hate to see these guys let their stomachs get out of control...gotta love Dorian though..dudes a beast..especially from the back.
Great vid mate. To clarify, Yates was 228 lbs at this show and 235 a year later when he won. I disagree ref Padilla ahead, Yates condition was best in show and no weak points, good tall guy beats good short guy all else being equal. Many felt that Yates should have won including Peter Mcgough who mentions it to this day. Yates didn't mind though and never complained. He was slightly overlooked initially as he was on the far side of stage and a total unknown, once in the mix the crowd went mad for him and got behind him which is why he has strong links to New York even now. This is actualy my second favourite Yates look after 93.
Benaziza had an outstanding physique, damn near perfect really. Although mass is still showing strong I believe it's finally losing steam to the Classic Physique. I think that had us "regular Joes" been asked we would never have voted for mass more than aesthetics. In fact, if there was a catalog that we could just choose the physique that would carry us around I think that most of us would go for the Benaziza, Padilla, Labrada and Ray models than the big Dorian Yates. Terrific one to bring back into the light Nick, thanks man! ......................PEACE!!
Great content as always, Nick. However, I do not necessarily agree with your last statement. I believe situation is about the same now and judges are also placing smaller guys with complete physiques well (William Bonac placing 3rd at the Olympia and winning the Arnold is a good example). The real issue is that there aren't that many small competitors in the open class or at least good enough to deservingly place high and challenge Phil Heath and the other big top guys. Of course, other categories like 212 and now Classic Physique are also part of the equation. I think there was an era where mass was insanely overrated, which of course would explain why we don't have Olympia champions with remarkable physiques such as Levrone, Wheeler or Ray. But the issue nowadays is that just everyone is getting big and guys like Flex Lewis have the option to compete and succeed in other categories. Let's remember that Dexter Jackson won in 2008 against a much bigger Jay Cutler. I am totally against the ridiculous mass and totally prefer balance and aesthetics but I really think the issue is more complex than judges just favouring mass over quality. Which good, complete and SMALL bodybuilder can you think of that should have won in the latest years and was not judged appropriately?
It's hard to judge between the top three of those guys even with Dorian because Shawn Ray had one of those prettiest bodies on the planet and that was purely genetic just the way his lines flowed and Dorian his body was genetic to the way he looked. If you judge somebody on how pretty their muscle lines flow that's not fair in my mind. Because Sean Ray and Danny Padilla had very pretty physics and no matter what Dorian Yates did there's nothing he could have done to look like that so he had to go with size I think the results were Fair.
I don't think that Dorians loss to smaller guys was such a shock at the time because Dorian was the the beginning of the mass monster era. Before his run of dominance it was relatively up for grabs.
They only rewarded size and symmetry for a handful of years early 80s and early 90s, the fact that they picked in 1992 Dorian over a ridiculously impressive and insanely conditioned Kevin Lavrone that looked way better than Dorian was the end of aesthetics as we know it.
Dorian had the freakiest calves. They were bigger than most guys quads. I miss those years when Dorian and Lee Haney were #1. You had some of the best bodybuilders of all time competing back then. The sport needs a facelift now as it does not have the same vibe anymore.
the 94 olympia was the greatest robbery of all time.. how Shawn didn't win is beyond me. Dorian probably should've finished 3rd behind Ray and levrone. he was a bloated mess that year while sporting a torn and melted left bicep. Ray on the other hand was in his best shape ever.
that was a big one...and Shawn was also robbed in 96, other huge robberies are Lee Labrada in 1990, El Nasser getting robbed in 97, Levrone in 95 and 2002, Cutler in 2001, Martinez in 2007, Bertil fox not getting at least 3rd in 1983, and of course Mike Mentzer in 1980.
too bad this giant killer concept didn't work at the 1990 mr olympia, when it was clear that both Shawn Ray and Lee Labrada were superior to Lee Haney at that show. two uncrowned Mr Olympias.
Nick, do you think the deaths of Momo (diuretics) and maybe Andreas Munzer could have been a factor in favor of size (and against conditioning)? I mean, there was all that discussion about banning diuretics and about extremely ripped bodybuilders and how extreme definition should count as a negative factor etc. What do you think?
When you actually calc Momo's BMI he is also a mass monster. The guys was only 5"2! And I think he competed at over 200lbs at later shows which would make him bigger than Dorian proportionately. Unfortunately I think that all this mass caused his death.....
Wow,,,,, I remember those days,,,and you only knew what happened in mags back then,,,like Musclemag,,,,,,,,back then my fave was Dorian Yates but Benaziza was great back then a modern Danny Padilla,,,today got some Brits memoribillia "Ron Judge " gear awesome
NOBODY at the time argued that Danny Padilla should've beaten Dorian here. I think there was one doofy writer in MuscleMag International who was waxing nostaglic about Padilla, but that's about it. Also, Dorian was 228 lbs at this show, and 234 at the following year's NOC.
Seems like bodybuilding is the most deadly sport on Earth. Every couple of videos I hear about a bodybuilder dying at a young age. It has to be the lifestyle that this kind of physique requires. The amount of food, insane stress from the constant training, and the drugs. Is it wrong to support this? I'm not saying what I'm going to do I'm just considering not following it anymore because of the danger. I don't want to support a sport that seems to be deadly. What do you think @nick and everyone else?
