Good Vito will halt training for one month to recover from this injury.
The 2025 Pittsburgh Pro lineup just took a major hit. On Thursday morning, Vitalii Ugolnikov, known as Good Vito, announced that he will miss the show due to a back injury suffered during training.
Vito shared that this injury occurred about one week ago but he did not share information as he attempted to get his body right for the show. When this did not seem possible, he decided to pull his name out.
“It’s with great sadness I announce I will not be participating in the Pittsburgh PRO Championship due to a major back muscle injury I suffered about a week ago and did not report before, trying to alleviate the symptoms by preparing my body for the championship following a strict routine.”
Ugolnikov took to Instagram to make the announcement, showing different poses and angles of a very large bruise on his lat. Vito continued to explain that it is not a complete rupture of the muscle but a “minor rupture of muscle fibers.” The pain and swelling has impacted his ability to pose and fully prepare the muscle for the show. He will be sidelined for one month before returning to training.
“I came to this championship to be a worthy competitor and my goal was to look better than I did a month ago, but since that’s becoming impossible, so along with my coach, a decision was made to focus on recovering my body and getting ready for Mr. Olympia.”
Good Vito’s Journey To the FBB Pro League
Good Vito earned his Pro Card at the 2022 Musclecontest International Brazil Nationals. He was a standout in the IFBB Elite Pro League, spending the better part of his career there. Vito eventually made the switch to the NPC in hopes of earning his Pro Card, much like the path taken by Michal Krizo.
Ugolnikov was determined to qualify for the 2023 Olympia but ran into trouble with his visa that put a wrinkle in his competition plans. Last year, he took the stage at the Detroit Pro finishing as the runner-up. This came after a third-place finish at the Arnold Brazil.
2025 Pittsburgh Pro Men’s Open Lineup
The first-ever Pittsburgh Pro Men’s Open lineup will feature some of the top competitors in the world:
- Joe Ballinger
- Pavel Beran
- William Bonac
- Douglas Connor
- Marcelo Pedro Da Cruz
- Martin Fitzwater
- Ron Gordon
- Michal Krizo
- Derek Lunsford
- Vincenzo Masone
- Justin Musiol
- Leandro Sencini Peres
- Nick Walker
- Bartley Weaver IV
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