The 2025 Arnold Classic Men’s Physique contest will be a part of the 2025 Arnold Sports Festival in Columbus, OH on Saturday, March 1, 2025. Twelve athletes were invited to compete in the tenth edition of this contest.
The champion will earn qualification to the 2025 Men’s Physique Olympia, if not already qualified.
Schedule
The pre-judging round will occur at the Arnold Expo at the Greater Columbus Convention Center, starting at 11 a.m. EST. The finals take place that evening in the Battelle Grand Ballroom, where the champion will receive the trophy from promoter Arnold Schwarzenegger.
Arnold Classic Men’s Physique Roster
- Erin Banks
- Ali Bilal
- Alessandro Cavagnola
- Vitor Chaves
- Rhyan Clark
- Emmanuel Costa
- Guilherme Gualbarto
- Jason Huynh
- Diogo Montenegro
- Rafael Oliveira
- Sidy Pouye
- Dmytro Voievodchuk
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Athletes to Watch
This lineup is headlined by the two most recent titleholders, Diogo Montenegro and Erin Banks. They will face a who’s who of top contenders vying for the title.
Diogo Montenegro
2024 champion Diogo Montenegro was a contender for the 2024 Men’s Physique Olympia, but withdrew before taking the stage. Montenegro must qualify for the 2025 Olympia and can earn that spot and defend his Arnold title at the same time.
Erin Banks
Banks is likely the biggest challenge to Montenegro’s desire to go back-to-back. Banks, who won the 2022 and 2023 Arnold titles skipped the 2024 contest.
Banks is already qualified for the 2025 Olympia as a former Olympia champion but still seeks to build his legacy. If he wins in Columbus, he will be the second athlete to win three Arnold Classic Men’s Physique titles. The only athlete who has thus far achieved that feat is Andre Ferguson, who three-peated from 2018 to 2020.
Ali Bilal
Ali Bilal was the Men’s Physique breakout star of 2024. He won Pittsburgh Pro and New York Pro titles and finished second to Ryan Terry at the 2024 Olympia. Notably, Bilal finished one rank ahead of Banks in that contest.
Bilal is locked for the 2025 Olympia, thanks to that silver-medal performance in 2024, but seeks his first Arnold title while riding his wave of momentum.
Dark Horses
Other athletes likely to be in the first callout next to the three athletes mentioned above include 2024 Arnold Classic Men’s Physique bronze medalist Vitor Chaves, Sidy Pouye, and Alessandro Cavagnola, who won three pro shows in 2024.
How to Watch
Fans who want to travel to Columbus to watch the show live can purchase tickets to the Expo and Saturday night finals on the Arnold Sports website. There will be a free live stream available to watch the action live from home. Details of that livestream have not been announced at the time of this article’s publication.
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