On Episode 296 of The Menace Podcast, host Dennis James, along with his regular panelists Milos Sarcev and Chris Cormier, discussed the results of the 2026 Chengdu China Pro, where Iranian bodybuilder, Behrooz Tabani came out on top against the U.K.s James Hollingshead. Since the competition, fans and experts have weighed in on who they think should have won.
Asking his panel to be “honest” rather than “nice,” host Dennis James wanted to get Chris Cormier’s take first.
“I gotta say, I think it took its toll on Behrooz … looking so great for that many weeks,” said Cormier, who felt that the Iranian did not bring his best possible package to the stage. “His legs were down a little bit, and he looked gray. Didn’t his skin look a little gray up there?”
Was Behrooz Tabani or James Hollingshead Better at the 2026 China Pro?
Agreeing that Tabani appeared a little off color, James said; “I mentioned the color too, in the beginning, but that was that video. It looked a little blotchy. But I saw some other footage where it actually looked great.”
Prepared to accept that the broadcast may have been to blame for the color situation, Cormier further analyzed that he thought Tabani and Hollingshead presented a close battle on stage. “I think they traded some shots with each other,” he noted.
The host then pressed harder and asked; “Chris, is the world crazy for thinking that James got robbed?”
Cormier observed that, in his opinion, there were definitely poses that swung in the Iranian’s favor, such as the back lat spread and the front double bicep pose. The Menace pointed out that Hollingshead had bigger legs, however. “Is James harder, absolutely,” continued the host, but he also agreed with Cormier that Behrooz was the better poser. The Menace further pointed out that the wider lat flare belonged to Tabani.
Adding his take, Milos Sarcev pointed out that this was perhaps the greatest version yet of James Hollingshead on stage. “Well, he showed up and gave him a run for the money,” he said, adding that if the judges had awarded first place to the British bodybuilder, he wouldn’t have had an issue. “But if you look at the bodybuilding areas that you’re supposed to look for, from all the lenses: symmetry, proportion, v-taper, aesthetics, you know, conditioning, shape, the tie-ins, striations, beauty … looking at the front double biceps pose, James does not have a physique to beat Behrooz in this pose.”
The debate around Tabani versus Hollingshead has also spilled out into the YouTube comments section of the show. Weighing in, bodybuilding fans shared their own thoughts. “Let’s make peace with this, this is (for) Behrouz’s one of the least impressive outings, but he did have the tools to edge James out!” said one viewer.
“James has better proportions,” added another.
“I had James winning BUT it was not a robbery,” added yet another.
Do you agree? To see this full episode of The Menace Podcast on the Muscle & Fitness YouTube channel, where the crew also dissected the latest bodybuilding news, see below.
