Is Big Ramy Going to Retire?

In a traditional year, the biggest story in bodybuilding is the crowning of the Mr. Olympia. Whether it’s the champion retaining or a new champion being crowned, that is usually the headline that garners all the attention. The only story that would be more headline worthy is if a Mr. Olympia retires.

Throughout 2022, there have been rumors that two-time Mr. Olympia Mamdouh “Big Ramy” Elssbiay would call it a career after he competes for his third title in Las Vegas, Nevada on December 16-18. Elssbiay finally addressed those rumors on the latest episode of The Menace Podcast. He said the initial reasoning for even considering hanging up his posing trunks are because he wants to be around his children more.

“I don’t have a lot of time to be around them, and they asked me,” he explained. “I said ‘ok, let me train and do this stuff until I’m 38 (years old).”

Elssbiay will be 38 after this year’s contest, which is why the rumors and questions have been so loud. However, the 16th Mr. Olympia may not be ready to call it a career just yet, even if he wins his third straight title this December. That’s because he sees his position as something bigger than a spot onstage.

“It’s not only about me right now. Yes, I still have a passion to win Mr. Olympia many times. If you see my country and the MIddle East, how important it is to them, you will train like a horse. You never stop. It’s not only about me.”

While the future is never written in stone, it’s safe to say for the time being that contenders such as former champion Brandon Curry, Hunter Labrada, Nick Walker, and the rest of the Olympia field still have a big hurdle to overcome if they want to hold the Sandow trophy in their futures. As he told Milos Sarcev when discussing the topic, Elssbiay is as locked in mentally on winning as ever.

“I never put in my mind that I will lose. You don’t put that in your mind if you need to win.”

Big Ramy speaks with Dennis James, Milos Sarcev, and Chris Cormier about several other topics, including his strength, life as the champion, and more. Subscribe to the Muscle & Fitness YouTube channel to see this episode of TMP in its entirety. New episodes air every Sunday at 3 pm Eastern time