Chris Bumstead loves his rivalry with Breon Ansley.
Rivalries in sports always adds a little extra spice to proceedings. It can’t be denied that rivalries like the one between Ronnie Coleman and Jay Cutler or Phil Heath and Kai Greene have helped grow interest in bodybuilding.
Now the rivalry spotlight has found its way to Olympia Classic Physique champion Chris Bumstead and former division kingpin Breon Ansley.
Ever since his loss in 2019, Breon Ansley has vowed to get his title back and has made his intentions known. Chris Bumstead isn’t bothered by it one bit however and is actually embracing the respectful rivalry much in the same as Ansley.
Chris Bumstead spoke about his rivalry with Breon Ansley in a recent interview. The reigning Olympia Classic Physique champion detailed how their rivalry is actually good for the sport.
“Personally I love it,” said Bumstead. “I have a lot of fun with it. I think I enjoy it because I understand that if any pressure, any stress that I feel only ever comes from myself in all aspects of my life, my responsibility is fully in myself. So I don’t really feel any stress or pressure coming from other people, no matter what they say, and I am extremely grateful for that. I still feel pressure and all that stuff, but it’s usually from me, not anyone else. I’m not 100% sure everyone else is like that, so if I can have fun with it and it’s not going to effect me, it’s all part of the game.
“I think it’s good for sure, for the sport to have rivalries like this,”Bumstead continued. “And Breon should be pissed. He thinks he’s a Better bodybuilder than me and he lost. I said last year at the press conference that the Olympia and IFBB were waiting for someone to show up with the perfect package of Classic Physique to send the division in that direction. That’s what I aimed to do in 2019, that what I continue to aim to do, and I think he should be pissed off. I think the division is heading in more of my direction, and he’s a much different physique than me, and he thinks he’s the best in the world. It’s going to create a little tension between us and a little rivalry and just be fun with it.”
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Do you think Chris Bumstead can once again overcome the threat of Breon Ansley?
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Managing Editor at Generation Iron, Jonathan Salmon is a writer, martial arts instructor, and geek culture enthusiast. Check out his YouTube, Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, and Sound Cloud for in-depth MMA analysis.
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