He came in small, was not where he wanted to be, even said he was lighter than normal in a video. He knew he was going to get trounced. I'm sure he and Meadows decided it best to place higher at an easier show.
He did pick up a new sponsor recently in addition to Animal/Universal.
https://www.nutritionfitplus.com/fr/accueilProbably a wise call to pull out of the NY Pro. It is a DEEP lineup with a TON of dense freaky mass. AV is just not at the size he needed to be right now despite having great shape and aesthetics. He could have been beat by a lot of no-name dudes coming up the ranks. Someone like Daniel Toth appears to have him beat in thickness just about everywhere based on the pics I'm seeing (albeit not as aesthetic).
Recent Pic before pull out
6th Place Toth
He's announced he's doing the Nordic Pro (aka Finland Pro) on Oct 11 and will have half the talent as the NY Pro. I wish AV was more competitive but its a smart move.
For example, here was last years Nordic Pro lineup:
1. Baitollah Abbaspour
2. Lionel Beyeke
3. Aliaksei Shabunia
4. Alexey Lesukov
5. Emiliano Delluomo
6. Daniele Seccarecci
7. Jeno Kiss
8. Mohamad Bannout
9. Jerry Ossi
10. Matthias Botthof
11. Alexandre Nataf
12. Mehdi Hatami
13. Jari Mentula
Weak.
