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by Christian Duque
Well it seems that the 212 Division has lost yet another defending champion in Keone Pearson. Much like his predecessors that have gone on to compete at the open, Keone more than likely saw the prize money, the opportunities, and the lopsided nature of bodybuilding. Here is a competitor that has all of the necessary resources to be able to be competitive either in the 212 Division or the open division. He’s a competitor that has been eyed by living legends and purists of the sport that just don’t understand why he would limit himself and compete only at the lighter division. But what about the lighter division? How much abuse can it take? After Derek left it was starting to come back together with guys like Shaun, Kamal, and of course Keone Pearson. Keone Pearson was seen not only as the defending 212 Division champion but as the future of the division.
Keone is a young competitor, relatively speaking, and his proportions and symmetry for the record books. The lighter division needed to have somebody to fill in the gap. Now I’m not suggesting that Keone filled in the gap left by Flex Lewis because nobody can fill that gap. Flex was and forever will be the goat of that division. After he left, it was pulled from the Arnold Classic. After he left the division lost a tremendous amount of thunder. Initially it started out as the 202, it fizzled out a little bit, then the 212 came around, and it just became a blockbuster. But it was a blockbuster that was contingent on the competing of The Welsh Dragon. Perhaps some people might argue that point, but isn’t it coincidental that once he retired the whole division took a nose dive? The fact of the matter is Keone Pearson was starting to fill in a little bit of that gap and look, just like Derek, he leaves the division and goes to the open.
A lot of this goes back to what Lee Priest has been saying recently and perhaps not so recently. And that is that competitive bodybuilders, irrespective of height and weight, can be competitive in open bodybuilding. And this observation is very important because it raises a lot of fundamental questions about why there is a second bodybuilding division. It’s the only division that has this sort of red-headed stepchild that follows it around wherever it goes. And even though bodybuilding is in the title, the money is nothing like open bodybuilding. The 212 Division was initially created for guys that were shorter and lighter than the open guys. Now what I would say to Lee’s point, it’s that back in the day it would have been unheard of for a guy that would be in the 212 Division winning the Olympia. And he may argue that point but when he was competing top six for him was huge, but imagine if he had won? Because he should have won. He had everything necessary to win. So did Lee Labrada, so did Shawn Ray. Interesting story, so did quite a few guys that weren’t winning any head contests but had all the muscle necessary to go all the way.
A guy like Keone Pearson may not have been able to have gone all the way in the 90s or 2000s, but 2025 is a completely different story. Now it’s not about the tall guys or even the mass monsters. If Derek could win, if Hadi could win, then Keone Pearson can win. Because at the end of the day a lot of the guys coming out of the 212 Division are going into the open and they’re cleaning house. William Bonac at one point was a 212 Division competitor. Shaun Clarida continues to be a 212 Division competitor but has won open bodybuilding shows against guys 100 pounds heavier than him and also guys towering over him. Because the 2020s have proven it to be a different time. and they have also proven to be a time where guys from the 212 Division can be very competitive. It speaks directly to Lee Priest’s point and it further alienates the much less popular division.
Very few guys set their sights on the 212 Division when they’re in the amateur ranks or when they get newly minted pro cards. It’s less money, less exposure, and a lot more hurdles. Why would anyone want to compete in the 212 Division given those circumstances? And these are very real questions I’m asking. I’m not trying to throw shade at the division, but it’s a division that not only is having a hard time staying afloat, but it doesn’t exactly have a lot of help from the Federation either. I mean it’s not the federation’s fault, but if promoters don’t want to offer that division, what can the Federation do?
The answer is not much. The only way the 212 Division can turn its fate around is by having a guy that goes all the way to the top and continues to defend that title. But unfortunately the alllure of competing in the open is just too great. You could potentially make more money in the top six of the open than you could winning the entire 212 Division. You’re going to get a lot more exposure if you get top 6 in the open then if you win the 212 division title. And you’re more than likely going to generate a larger fanbase if you’re top six in the open than if you were the number one guy in the 212.
Again the 212 Division is not on any level comparable to open bodybuilding. Even though they’re both bodybuilding divisions, one is where everyone wants to be and the other one is where everyone that’s there feels like that’s the only thing they can do. In other words, it’s almost like it’s a division for guys that could not be competitive in the open. That’s not what it was started out as and that’s not what it was initially to be, but that seems to be what it has become. Because the very best of the best either leave totally for the open or compete in open and 212 Division.
I know the title of this article is all about Keone Pearson and a lot of it is about Keone Pearson but a lot of it is also about the damage that is being done to The 212 Division. Now if in fact Keone Pearson is going open, the 212 Division is going to be left with a vacancy. There is no defending champion. There are going to be previous 212 Division Champions like Kamal and Shaun Clarida but there is not going to be anyone actually defending the title. This is the same thing that happened when Derek moved up. And this is the same thing that can happen again and again and again but at one point or another the division is just going to simply die out. The Arnold Classic got rid of it and never brought it back. If Olympia gets rid of it, then what’s going to happen to the division? Who knows that the Olympia even wants to keep running it? Remember that promoters need to run divisions that are popular and it’s not a charity event. It’s very much a business. If the fans don’t want to see it, why do they have to see it? Do you know what I mean?
Again, I don’t want to pin the shortcomings of the entire 212 Division on the fact that now three of its top guys, maybe even four of its top guys, have left for the open. and this is the second time that a reigning 212 Division champion decides to move up to open instead of defending the title that he won. It’s a bad look for the division. It’s great for the athlete, it’s not good for the division.
Nonetheless, Keone Pearson has every right to make the most money, get the most fans, and have the most doors open for him. He’s just not going to be able to get as much in the 212 Division as he could in the open division. So I understand his move and I wish him well, but the 212 Division has just taken another major hit. Hopefully they will still have a great 212 Division Olympia Showdown. Hopefully the division continues on, but the absence of Keone Pearson will definitely be felt just like the absence of Derek Lunsford.
Do you think Keone Pearson can break into the open top 10? Does anybody think Pearson can be in the top six? As always, thank you for reading my article, here at IronMag. I look forward to reading your feedback in the comments. Please be sure to copy and paste a link of this article on all your social media feeds. It is bound to generate lively conversation.
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