Since its inception in 2015, the Arnold Classic Men’s Physique contest has been a hallowed battleground for the division’s top stars. Six athletes have raised the trophy as its champion throughout the decade it has existed. Three of those men have also gone on to win the Olympia title.
The 2025 edition of the Arnold Classic Men’s Physique will take place on the weekend of Feb. 28 through March 1, 2025, in its usual home of Columbus, OH. Before we crown the 2025 champion, here is a look back at the past winners of this prestigious event:
Arnold Classic Men’s Physique Champions
- Sadik Hadzovic (2015)
- Brandon Hendrickson (2016)
- Ryan Terry (2017)
- Andre Ferguson (2018 – 2020)
- Erin Banks (2022 – 2023)
- Diogo Montenegro (2024)
[Related: Every Winner of the Wellness International Competition]
Sadik Hadzovic (2015)
The inaugural competition was held in 2015 at the Arnold Expo, and Sadik Hadzovic would leave the stage as its first champion. Hadzovic held off Jason Poston and Anton Antinov, who finished second and third, to win. 2013 Men’s Physique Olympia champion Mark Anthony finished this event in fifth place.
- Sadik Hadzovic
- Jason Poston
- Anton Antinov
Brandon Hendrickson (2016)
Many of the division’s fans felt that Brandon Hendrickson was a rising star, but he was not expected to win the 2016 edition of the Arnold Men’s Physique contest. He had other plans and would leave Columbus with the trophy. In 2018, Hendrickson went on to win the Men’s Physique Olympia to become the first man to have won both championships. He sits with three Olympia titles as of 2025.
- Brandon Hendrickson
- George Brown
- Jason Poston
Ryan Terry (2017)
Ryan Terry was the third man to secure the Arnold and Olympia titles. He accomplished the first half of that feat in 2017 over a competitive field that included Hendrickson and Andre Ferguson, who took the runner-up spot. It would be six years before Terry took the Olympia title back to the United Kingdom. He repeated as Olympia champion in 2024.
- Ryan Terry
- Andre Ferguson
- Brandon Hendrickson
Andre Ferguson (2018-20)
Once Ferguson got a hold of the Arnold title a year later, he would hold onto it until 2020. As of 2024, he is the only three-time champion in the competition’s history. His last victory came at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, leading to the Men’s Physique contest being omitted from the Arnold Classic in 2021.
2018
- Andre Ferguson
- Raymont Edmonds
- Brandon Hendrickson
2019
- Andre Ferguson
- Raymont Edmonds
- Kyron Holden
2020
- Andre Ferguson
- Brandon Hendrickson
- Steven Cao
Erin Banks (2022-23)
Erin Banks is the second of the three men to win the Arnold and Olympia, but he was the only man to win both in the same calendar year. He dominated the Arnold stage at the beginning of the 2022 season, then secured the Olympia title that same season.
Banks joined Ferguson in the repeat winners club by scoring his second straight Arnold win in 2023. However, Terry would defeat Banks on the Olympia stage that year.
2022
- Erin Banks
- Emanuel Hunter
- Diogo Montenegro
2023
- Erin Banks
- Diogo Montenegro
- Emanuel Hunter
Diogo Montenegro (2024)
Diogo Montenegro had finished in the top three on the Arnold stage in 2022 and 2023. He finally claimed gold in 2024 by defeating runner-up Vinicius Mateus Vieira Lima and third-place finisher Kyron Holden. He would miss the 2024 Olympia, which means the fans missed the matchup between him and Terry.
- Diogo Montenegro
- Vinicius Mateus Vieira Lima
- Kyron Holden
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