He has been the darling of the show’s namesake for quite a few years and yet has not tasted victory on the Arnold Classic (USA) stage. Even though Cedric McMillan finished as Kai Greene’s runner-up the last time this prestigious event was held, Arnold Schwarzenegger praised the former’s physique over the latter when pointing out how the posing round being scored changed the eventual outcome in Columbus, Ohio.
“Cedric had a better developed physique overall and had the leanest waist but (sic) now counting again the posing, those points helped Kai Greene,” Schwarzenegger told Digital Muscle’s Dan Solomon and Ben Pakulski pursuant to the 2016 show.
A year earlier, the Austrian Oak gave McMillan a huge boost by using him as the epitome of what he perceives as inaccurate judging at the IFBB level. In his annual Sunday seminar, Schwarzenegger stated, “What does bodybuilding want to have? That’s what it comes down to. I think that Cedric had such a beautiful body, he was so well proportioned that I thought that he should have placed higher than he did (fourth).
“Unless we change the judging procedure,” continued Schwarzenegger, “and unless we stop using just the guys with the biggest neck, the biggest muscle but not look as pleasing. What I’m telling the judges is that you have to go and consider everything. For instance, so many of those guys have their stomachs sticking out. It used to be that you should have a V-shaped body. Now, it’s kind of like a bottle shaped body.”
Last March, Greene and McMillan had a great battle for the top spot and having it come down to the posing round – just reintroduced but only to the Arnold Classic – gave it a ‘bottom-of-the-ninth’ feel of sorts. McMillan was ahead following the prejudging and came in extremely sharp, but so did Greene, even though he was his usual blocky self.
But “The Predator” will not be in Columbus this year and that leaves the door wide open for someone like McMillan to stand in the winner’s circle. The line-up as a whole is not particularly deep, per se, but it is a formidable one, nonetheless. No former winners are competing, such as Greene, Dexter Jackson or Dennis Wolf, but no one should overlook someone such as Josh Lenartowicz, who placed third in 2016 right behind McMillan. Other names that jump off the page are Juan Morel, Dallas McCarver and Lionel Beyeke.
Since 1989, the Arnold Classic has been perceived as the second most prestigious show on the IFBB yearly calendar after the Mr. Olympia. And – for the most part – the winner has competed and placed well in Las Vegas six months later. So taking home the hardware here can be a career changer. And McMillan is at a career crossroads of sorts. He has always been viewed as a bodybuilder with great potential but has had a few slip-ups over the years that have hurt his overall public perception. A perfect example is arriving late for the competitor’s meeting at the 2013 Arnold Classic Brazil and being disqualified for it. And that was a show he was predicted to win easily. (Brandon Curry was the eventual winner.)
Being a military veteran, McMillan should be a perfect example for the fans of the Iron Game. Winning a show like the Arnold Classic may be just the thing to finally put him in the conversation of the current and active bodybuilding greats.
At least in Schwarzenegger’s opinion.
CEDRIC MCMILLAN AT THE ARNOLD CLASSIC
2016 – second
2015 – fourth
2014 – third
2013 – sixth
