When Lee Priest competed, and I actually have seen Lee Priest compete a number of times, bodybuilding was much smaller back then, and Lee was on of the smallest competitors in height. He still, in a span of a few years, had one of the best physiques for his size.
Now, there are a lot more competitors, worldwide, who are smaller, and the 212lb division has let them compete fairly, not again a huge 260 pound mass monster.