Ronnie looked amazing 98-00, no doubt.
Dorian had structure, completeness and conditioning (size probably too, but thats debatable) on his side. Thats a 1-2 punch.
Ronnie has superior muscle shape, definition, and separation.
Dorian simply has more of the important qualities than Ronnie does.
I look at it like this -
Ronnie's has more of the little details, like the icing on the cake - the finish work.
Dorian has more of the solid base of things it takes to win (completeness, conditioning), even though he doesnt quite have as much of nice little touches.
Think of it like a car that has it all - Cornering, braking and power (Mass, conditiong, completeness), but with a crude interior and rough to drive, and an ugly paintjob.
vs.
A car that has equal cornering and braking (mass and conditioning), but is down on power (completeness), but has nicer things like interior, nice to drive, nice paint, easy to look at (Separation, detail, shape).
In competition, youre going to want the ugly car that has all the most important points covered. Youre not going to choose a car that doesnt handle as well even though its nicer to drive/look at.
To drive around and show off youre going to want the 2nd car, impressive looking and more of a crowd pleaser even though its not as complete a competitor like the 1st ugly brute of car.