Clash of the Titans Six: Jay Cutler vs. Dorian Yates
September 15, 2009
FLEXONLINE.COM
The 2009 Mr. Olympia on September 25-26 is shaping up to be the most competitive in history. Loaded with star power that hasn’t been seen since the explosion of talent that populated the lineups of the nineties and into the new millennium, it sparks the timeless debate: Who was better, the champions of yesterday or the champions of today? To answer that, we’ve pitted the class of ’09 against legendary names from the past, each in a one on one battle to determine once and for all, who will reign supreme.
The sixth in our Olympia Clash of the Titans series presents a pair of multi-Sandow winners. Yates has six on his mantle, while Cutler has two and craves at least one more. Neither man had the best guns or slimmest waist on the Olympia stage. Instead, they won with their backs and legs. The bodyparts that take up the most space helped them dominate with brute size. It’s a battle of the mass monsters as Jay Cutler takes on Dorian Yates.
SCOUTING REPORT: CUTLER With the broadest back on recent O stages and equally enormous legs (including calves, a component others lack), Cutler represents what many see as the Mr. O prototype: head-to-toe and side-to-side, the biggest mo-fo in the lineup. His wide hips can hurt him in comparisons with smaller guys (see ’08), but when others try to outmuscle him his mega-wide shoulders serve up a dramatic taper.
SCOUTING REPORT: YATES With a show-stopping back and unparalleled density, Yates redefined the Mr. O body. He wasn’t always at his granite-hard best, but he always had more than those trying to hang with him in an O posedown, especially in areas like calves, traps and lats. The Shadow simply overshadowed his challengers.
FRONT VIEW: Standing relaxed, Yates narrowly wins with narrower hips and thicker pecs. Front double biceps would depend on which year we look at as injuries eventually took their toll on Yates. Cutler would come out on top most years. On the other hand, front lat spread was a devastating pose for Yates with his lats seemingly surrounding him.
SIDE VIEW: Both men have better side tri shots (focused more on triceps) than side chest shots (focused more on biceps). In two close calls, the former goes to Yates and the latter to Cutler.
REAR VIEW: As great as Cutler is from behind, Yates at his best was untouchable from the rear because he had not just the thickest and widest lats but also details like a lumbar Christmas tree. Maybe only two men in history could beat Cutler at his best in both a rear lat spread and a rear double bi, but Yates was one of the two (Coleman being the other).
THE WINNER: YATES Sharing the same strengths, Cutler could hang tight with Yates, but then several contenders hung with Yates during his Sandow-grabbing years. In the end though, they couldn’t overtake him because he simply eclipsed them from behind. Every bit as wide, Cutler would not be eclipsed, but he would be beaten.
