Who’s the best? Michal Križánek and Sergio Oliva Jr. trade words.
An interesting debate has started on Evolutionofbodybuilding.net’s social media between IFBB Elite Pro champion Michal Križánek and NPC/Pro League’s Sergio Oliva Jr.
Michal has just won his third IFBB Elite Pro World Championship as the 2021 Arnold Classi Europe that took place in Seville, Spain, 19 September, 2021.
Križánek is one of the best bodybuilders in the world, presenting a physique that can either win or place very well at any competition.
Michal is a competitor within the IFBB Elite Pro League. The IFBB Elite Pro League is governed by the IFBB. Many will be confused regarding the IFBB, but in 2017, Jim Manion (NPC/Pro League) and IFBB President Rafael Santonja (IFBB/IFBB Elite Pro) went their separate ways.
Michal Križánek vs Sergio Oliva Jr.
Getting to the story between Sergio Oliva Jr. and Michal Križánek, an interesting trade of words has started between the two champions on Evolutionofbodybuilding.net’s official Instagram page.
What makes Evolutionofbodybuilding.net different from the rest of the bodybuilding media, is that this site covers all major federations, and has an excellent relationship with numerous representatives of each federation from all over the world.
Evolutionofbodybuilding.net’s owner Kevin Grech has an excellent relationship with Sergio Oliva Jr. and Michal Križánek. These two bodybuilders are the industries best and some friendly debates between then is great for the sport.
As mentioned earlier, Michal is an IFBB Elite Pro competitor as Sergio Oliva Jr. competes within the NPC/Pro League.
Evolutionofbodybuilding.net has been giving our readers full coverage of the 2021 Arnold Classic Europe as we do every year.
The Arnold Classic Europe is sanctioned by the IFBB and IFBB Elite Pro, meaning, the NPC/Pro League competitors cannot compete in the IFBB Elite Pro event.
Michal has just won the 2021 IFBB Elite Pro World Championships that were held at the Arnold Classic Europe in Seville, Spain, 19 September, 2021.
This site shared some video footage of Michal and his main competitor Mika Sihvonen posing together backstage at the 2021 Arnold Classic Europe.
Just as the Mr. Olympia had Arnold Schwarzenegger vs Sergio Oliva, Jay Cutler vs Ronnie Coleman and Phil Heath vs Kai Greene. The IFBB Elite Pro have Michal Križánek vs Mika Sihvonen.
These historic battles are what shapes the sport.
Getting back to the debate between Michal and Sergio, Sergio commented on a recent video published by Evolutionofbodybuilding.net, and then the trading of words started between Sergio and Michal.
The Debate
Sergio Oliva Jr. – “Wasting their talents. Need to come play in the big leagues. I think they would kill actually.”
Michal Križánek – “Sergio Oliva Jr. you are one of my favorite bodybuilders from the NPC, but if I compete with you, you don’t have a chance to win… sorry…”
Sergio Oliva Jr. – “Michal, come prove it in the real bodybuilding league (NPC/Pro League). We battle warriors over here. You beat same two guys every year…boring.”
In the past year, a number of NPC dedicated media have been trying to convince Michal to make the switch from the IFBB Elite Pro to the NPC/Pro League, but on numerous occasions, Michal has stated he is very happy to compete within Rafael Santonja’s federation.
As mentioned at the beginning of this article, there have been many rivalries in the NPC/Pro League, between two main bodybuilders and the IFBB Elite Pro is not different.
The NPC/Pro League was sanctioned by Rafael Santonja’s IFBB since it’s creation by Ben Weider, and they have been having events for over 60 years. The IFBB Elite Pro was created in 2017 after the split.
“Wasting their talents. Need to come play in the big leagues. I think they would kill actually.”
– Sergio Oliva Jr.
There is no denying that the majority of bodybuilding stars are within the NPC/Pro League, for the reason that they have the Olympia Weekend bragging rights.
But the mistake that everybody within the NPC/Pro League makes is that they think they have the best athletes in the world, this is far from the truth.
In his comments, Sergio was honest and admitted that IFBB Elite Pro athletes would do very well in the NPC/Pro League. Some NPC/Pro League supporters refuse to admit there are great athletes all over the world in different federations. Well done to Sergio for being honest.
The NPC/Pro League, IFBB Elite Pro, NABBA, PCA and other federations or organizations all have fantastic athletes.
Not one federation can say they have the best athletes. The only way to prove this is to have the Olympia Weekend as an open event and let Pro’s from every federation or organization from all over the world compete. Then we will find out who produces the best bodybuilders.
In the three years since its creation, the IFBB Elite Pro is growing and some fantastic athletes are stepping on their stages, competing at a very high level.
The Elite Pro athletes follow the federations physique guidelines very seriously. They make sure their physique represents what the IFBB stands for. It is evident that IFBB Elite Pro athletes have physiques that are aesthetic, defined and healthy looking. The strict guidelines within the IFBB when these athletes were amateurs, helped them grow into fantastic professionals that bring the highest standard of competition to the IFBB Elite Pro stage.
Bigger is not always better, and as witnessed in the 2021 Arnold Classic, Michal’s main competition is the smaller, but perfectly balanced Mika Sihvonen. Mika has been pushing Michal at every major event, and in the near future, if Michal is just slightly off, Mika can defeat him.
Is Sergio better than Michal? This is something we might never find out, unless Michal crosses over, starts as a NPC amateur and earns his Pro status within the NPC/Pro League.
Sergio would definitely have a difficult time against Michal as until you meet him, Michal has the wow factor, just as Big Ramy does.
“Sergio Oliva Jr. you are one of my favorite bodybuilders from the NPC, but if I compete with you, you don’t have a chance to win… sorry…”
– Michal Križánek
Michal would definitely be a threat on the Mr. Olympia stage, his balanced physique, would defeat a number of the NPC/Pro League’s top stars.
Michal is very confident, and he has every right to be. His status as one of the worlds best bodybuilders is growing fast, and he is being noticed.
As the NPC/Pro League have Big Ramy as their number one bodybuilder, the IFBB Elite Pro have Michal Križánek.
This is the reality and unfortunately, Michael leaving the IFBB Elite Pro might never happen.
The best athletes want to compete against the best in the world
There is not denying that Sergio wants to compete against the best in the world. Sergio is one of the worlds top bodybuilders and he wants to step on stage against the best.
Sergio and a number of NPC/Pro League champions regard Michal and other IFBB Elite Pro athletes as fantastic bodybuilders. They would love to share the stage with them, just as Michal and other athletes respect all the NPC/Pro League stars, they would also like to compete against them.
Unfortunately, the split between the NPC/Pro League and the IFBB/IFBB Elite Pro is preventing this from happening.
When the split occurred in 2017, many believed that there would be a new beginning for the NPC/Pro League in the sport, but this is far from truth.
The NPC/Pro League are dominating the USA, Canadian and UK bodybuilding scene, but as for the rest of the world, Rafael Santonja’s IFBB and IFBB Elite Pro have a strong hold on Europe and the majority of countries from all over the world.
The proof of the IFBB’s (Rafael Santonja) strong dominance is at the IFBB Amateur European, World, Diamond Cup and Arnold Classic Europe competitions. Thousands of athletes take to the stage and their dream is not only win at these prestigious events, but compete in the IFBB Elite Pro stage.
The athlete decides what is best
This is something that must be discussed and it’s the reason why athletes such as Sergio and Michal might never compete against each other.
Logistics is a major factor in the athletes decision on which federation he or she decides to compete in.
Prize money is still very low in the majority of competitions in every federation. The Olympia Weekend is the only event that offers a generous amount of prize money, but that is only one competition.
The majority of NPC/Pro events are organized in the USA. While the NPC created the NPC Worldwide to promote NPC/Pro League competitions all over the world, they are still finding it difficult.
If an athlete wants to earn his or her Olympia qualification and fails to do it in Europe, he or she will have to travel to the USA at their own expense. This does not make sense financially, unless they have a very helpful sponsor. So in reality, the NPC/Pro League will have fewer international competitors competing on American soil.
This is why the younger international athlete, especially from Europe compete within the IFBB Elite Pro. And in time, the IFBB Elite Pro league will continue to grow, attracting more competitors.
The same goes for the NPC Worldwide. They are organizing a number of pro events, but the stars from America are not making the trip, which in return gives the promoter a weak lineup, which also means a financial disaster.
The only American competitors that make the trip to Europe are the ones desperate to earn their Olympia qualification.
Some athletes just love stepping on the competitive stage and they want to do it in the most affordable way. If it means putting staying put in Europe, they have hundreds of options with the IFBB/IFBB Elite Pro compared to the NPC/Pro League or better know as NPC Worldwide internationally.
The IFBB name – who should use it?
Many will surely disagree with the opinion of this website, but this is the reality of the sport of bodybuilding. A sport that should have been so simple to organize has become a logistic and organizational nightmare.
Fans and even athletes still have no idea there was a split in 2017. The NPC/Pro League refuse to let go of the ‘IFBB’ name, knowing this belongs to Rafael Santonja’s IFBB, the federation Ben and Joe Weider created.
Jim Manion registered the ‘NPC Pro League’ name in 2017 and he refuses to use that name. He knows the IFBB name is still very powerful and he will continue using this as long as it earns him a financial gain.
Evolutionofbodybuilding.net has been informed that some of Jim Manion’s closest advisors have allegedly told him to drop the IFBB name to stop the confusion, but he refuses to budge. He remains to keep the ‘NPC Pro League’ brand on the shelf.
The IFBB was created by Joe and Ben Weider. Ben took over the IFBB Amateur division and governed it for over 61 years. The torch was passed on to Dr Rafael Santonja when he was elected President in 2006.
This means the IFBB name should only be used in events related to the IFBB and IFBB Elite Pro events, not the NPC/Pro League or NPC Worldwide.
All this still confuses the athlete and the majority of media within the USA and it will continue to until one day it is resolved.
Until this situation is resolved, it is no use athletes from different federations and organizations suggest athletes switch from one side to the other. Evolutionofbodybuilding.net will continue to report the reality of this situation until it ends.
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