Roger Maris had Babe Ruth. Joe Frazier had Muhammad Ali. The rest of the NBA had Michael Jordan. Now, Jay Cutler has Ronnie Coleman. And the competitive fire in Cutler’s belly grows stronger every time Coleman brings home another Mr. Olympia crown. Here’s what Cutler had to say about his focus concerning this year’s Olympia, and about the man who’s tormented him for the better part of the past decade.

“I’m not out to set any records or try to change history. But let’s put it this way — a lot of my goal is to beat Ronnie Coleman because he’s the only guy I haven’t been able to surpass yet. And honestly, I really want to beat Ronnie Coleman more than I want to win the Olympia at this point. Because he is maybe the greatest bodybuilder we’ve seen as Mr. Olympia. So you know, with all the respect to him, and all the other athletes, I just want to beat the guy. And you know what, when I do beat him, you know people are going to make excuses (about) why I beat him. And say, ‘Maybe he’s over the hill’ or ‘He didn’t look his best.’ But you know what? First is first. You take it the way it comes. People are always going to have opinions.

“I sit at home and I look at my victories that I’ve had — I’ve got three Arnold Classic trophies sitting in my case, I’ve got three most muscular trophies. I’ve won the Ironman, I’ve won San Francisco. European shows. I’ve won a lot of contests except the Mr. Olympia. I’d love a Sandow sitting on my mantle. I’d love two. I’d love possibly three. But I’m not trying to set records. If I wanted to set records I would have gone back to the Arnold Classic and won their consecutive wins after three but I didn’t. I’m really focused on trying to bring home the Sandow and beat Ronnie Coleman at the same time.”