Phil Heath compared the two legendary bodybuilding rivalries.
Phil Heath put together a legendary bodybuilding career and faced many elite competitors during it. One of the most notable rivalries Heath had was with Kai Greene. During a recent interview, Heath compared this matchup with the likes of Ronnie Coleman vs. Jay Cutler.
Greene, who burst not the scene thanks to his massive size and shape, did not win an Olympia over the course of his career. He is a two-time Arnold Classic champ and has won other heralded shows, such as the New York Pro. Greene is considered to be one of the best bodybuilders ever to never win a Sandow Trophy.
Greene went toe-to-toe with Phil Heath during many Olympia competitions. The two created one of the greatest rivalries in bodybuilding. In 2011, Greene finished third at the Olympia and would go on to be the runner-up in the next three.
Heath totaled seven Olympia titles over the course of his career. In 2020, he stepped on stage for the final time but has been active in the gym ever since. During the 2020 show, Heath finished third and fans have been waiting for his return ever since. His seven titles is second all-time to Ronnie Coleman and Lee Haney, who are tied at the top for eight. Many wonder if Heath would return in hopes of matching this all-time record.
Heath joined Chris Williamson for an interview recently, where he was able to comment on many topics in bodybuilding, past and present.
Phil Heath: “I Think It’s the Greatest Rivalry”
Phil Heath discussed his rivalry with Kai Greene and how it could be considered the best in the sport.
“I think it is the greatest rivalry. I think it’s bigger than Jay and Ronnie’s, just because they were friends. We weren’t. I think we wanted to be friends, Kai and I, but I feel because of us both wanting something so freaking bad and during the social media era, one camp, the other camp, they’re talking so much and we can see the chatter that it kind of made it look like.”
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The rivalry featured plenty of smack talk but also mind games between the two competitors.
“I know that Kai had to play psychological warfare because this is bodybuilding. It’s not MMA. It’s not boxing, it’s not even basketball or football, right? It’s just a person lifting weights and dieting and doing heavy amounts of cardio and posing that it’s hard to impose your will on someone physically.”
Phil Heath Recalls Fight On Stage
Phil Heath continued to reminisce about the on-stage incident between himself and Kai Greene in 2014.
“It felt like high school when everybody is like fight, fight, fight, fight and then you’re basically getting into it and then there were the fan’s energy that I felt. That got calm because all you could hear was, if you were there you would be able to heat Steve Weinberger’s voice get elevated and they turned the music up louder. I guess they were trying to drown out the crowd noise.”
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The two have been in contact in retirement but the friendship has not developed as of now. Heath does credit Greene for reaching out in 2018 after he fell short on stage.
“We’ve had a few conversations. Kai Greene gets credit for me because he was the first athlete in the IFBB to call me after I lost in 2018 and he was the only one…He basically gave me some much-needed words like ‘they didn’t beat the Phil I know. They beat an injured one. You’re still the best ever.’ and to hear that, it made me feel good.”
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