{"id":25984,"date":"2026-07-31T21:59:40","date_gmt":"2026-07-31T21:59:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/worldbodybuildingnews.com\/?p=25984"},"modified":"2026-07-31T21:59:40","modified_gmt":"2026-07-31T21:59:40","slug":"behrooz-tabani-vs-james-hollingshead-did-the-judges-get-the-2026-china-pro-right","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/worldbodybuildingnews.com\/?p=25984","title":{"rendered":"Behrooz Tabani vs. James Hollingshead: Did the Judges Get the 2026 China Pro Right?"},"content":{"rendered":"

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On Episode 296 of The Menace Podcast,<\/em> host Dennis James, along with his regular panelists Milos Sarcev and Chris Cormier, discussed the results of the 2026 Chengdu China Pro<\/a>, 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.<\/span><\/p>\n

Asking his panel to be \u201chonest\u201d rather than \u201cnice,\u201d host Dennis James wanted to get Chris Cormier\u2019s take first.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI gotta say, I think it took its toll on Behrooz \u2026 looking so great for that many weeks,\u201d said Cormier, who felt that the Iranian did not bring his best possible package to the stage. \u201cHis legs were down a little bit, and he looked gray. Didn\u2019t his skin look a little gray up there?<\/a>\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Was Behrooz Tabani or James Hollingshead Better at the 2026 China Pro?<\/h2>\n

Agreeing that Tabani appeared a little off color, James said; \u201cI 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.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

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. \u201cI think they traded some shots with each other,\u201d he noted.<\/span><\/p>\n

The host then pressed harder and asked; \u201cChris, is the world crazy for thinking that James got robbed?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Cormier observed that, in his opinion, there were definitely poses that swung in the Iranian\u2019s favor, such as the back lat spread and the front double bicep pose. The Menace pointed out that Hollingshead had bigger legs, however. \u201cIs James harder, absolutely,\u201d 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.<\/span><\/p>\n

Adding his take, Milos Sarcev pointed out that this was perhaps the greatest version yet of James Hollingshead on stage. \u201cWell, he showed up and gave him a run for the money,\u201d he said, adding that if the judges had awarded first place to the British bodybuilder, he wouldn\u2019t have had an issue. \u201cBut if you look at the bodybuilding areas that you\u2019re supposed to look for, from all the lenses: symmetry, proportion, v-taper, aesthetics, you know, conditioning, shape, the tie-ins, striations, beauty \u2026 looking at the front double biceps pose, James does not have a physique to beat Behrooz in this pose.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

The debate around Tabani\u00a0 versus Hollingshead has also spilled out into the YouTube comments section of the show. Weighing in, bodybuilding fans shared their own thoughts. \u201cLet\u2019s make peace with this, this is (for) Behrouz\u2019s one of the least impressive outings, but he did have the tools to edge James out!\u201d said one viewer.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cJames has better proportions,\u201d added another.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI had James winning BUT it was not a robbery,\u201d added yet another.<\/span><\/p>\n

Do you agree? To see this full episode of The Menace Podcast<\/em> on the Muscle & Fitness<\/em> YouTube channel, where the crew also dissected the latest bodybuilding news, see below.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n