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Tonio \u201cThe Predator\u201d Burton is making a tremendous amount of noise in 2026, and with good reason! The former 212 competitor is now a bona fide open threat to any title he sets his sights on. Fresh off dominating at the 2026 New York Pro, Tonio returned to the Biggest Little City On Earth, and made his position known. In fact, from the moment The Predator hit the stage, he was dead center, and he never moved from that position. Imagine the level of sheer dominance at play! Two guys on each side are constantly being moved around, all the while, Burton stays in the same spot. That\u2019s what happens when you have a competitor so ahead of the game that it\u2019s no longer a contest in the truest version of the form. No one is wondering who\u2019s going to win. It\u2019s abundantly clear who the winner is. It\u2019s really just a matter of where the other guys are going to win up. Who will be runner-up, who will be 3rd, etc. And there too lies another interesting fact, in that the judges only wanted to see the Top 6 and then narrowed it down to the Top 4. Everyone else got ready and arrived at the show for no real reason. It\u2019s really up to the head judge.<\/p>\n
The 2026 Legion (or Reno<\/em> as I prefer to call it out for organization\u2019s sake) has come up in terms of depth of competition and value on the pro circuit. Again, these are just my opinions. The idea that the show is coming up suggests that maybe it wasn\u2019t so great before. The contest was always great, but its position in terms of the wow-factor is different. I think the show was initially seen as\u00a0 an easy, low-hanging fruit type contest. Tonio changed that. He\u2019s won the title a few times and as his star has risen, so too, has the Legion\u2019s. Put more plainly, when I think of the Legion Sports Fest, I think of Tonio. In my mind, I think Reno<\/em> or Legion<\/em>, Tonio\u2019s image comes to mind. That\u2019s huge for that promoter and for that city. Because even after winning the NY Pro, which we\u2019ll talk about more later, and then placing a controversial 2nd in Pittsburgh, Burton made it a point to compete in Reno. Reno is important to him. This title is important to him. And after winning in Reno, it\u2019s rumored that The Predator will sit out the season in preparation for the Olympia. That, too, speaks to the champ\u2019s connection to this show.<\/p>\n With regard to the rest of the Top 5, there were some noteworthy takeaways that I\u2019d like to share. For starters, runner-up Eric Wood brought the house down. He\u2019s an Ohio competitor that I\u2019ve interviewed on numerous times over the years. I know how dangerous he can be, even though many of the pundits seemingly overlooked him. I don\u2019t think they\u2019ll be making that mistake again. In fact, some of my overseas friends who were doing a live reaction feed even said that Eric held his own in certain poses with Burton. That says a lot because Tonio is a New York Pro champion. The NY Pro, formerly the Night of Champions, is the 3rd most prestigious contest in physique-based sports. The fact that Tonio was able to secure that illustrious title and the way with which he secured the victory, puts him in a category of sheer excellence. The fact Eric Wood was on that level \u2013 albeit for select poses \u2013 is a huge feather in his cap. Whereas Burton earned another win, I\u2019d argue that Eric walks away with the intrigue of the bodybuilding media. Rounding out of the Top 3 was Patrick Moore. Patrick reminded all the skeptics and haters, that when he puts his mind to it, he can win the Top 3 in Reno. This is why Patrick is in my Top 100 of pro competitors competing in 2026. He\u2019s an anabolic warrior, no, he\u2019s a powerhouse!<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n