Mandy Sacs is Coming Home...to the WBFF!

Mandy Sacs has never been shy of showing off her physique, as she as done for several years, most noticeably in the World Beauty Fitness and Fashion (WBFF) federation as a Bikini Pro and in World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) as a pro wrestler. In many ways, Mandy was a muscle mommy before muscle mommies became a thing. Her strong physique combines with her Hollywood looks made her a very hot commodity within WWE, making her one of the most popular females in the company during her time there, and of course being very popular on social media. We all know how her WWE career ended so we won't get into that here, but what we WILL talk about is how she has grabbed folks' attention moreso than usual this year. 

Mandy Sacs stealing the show at Miami Swim Week last year

As we mentioned before, Mandy's physique has always seemed to be an attraction on social media, but this year, things felt a tad bit different but no one could tell exactly what it was. She was looking a bit more lean and defined than usual. Some speculated a return to wrestling (if not WWE, then somewhere else). Everything became perfectly clear on Episode 28 of Power Alphas, her podcast with fiancé Sabby Piscitelli, a former WWE Superstar himself. At the end of that particular episode, she announced that she was going to return to competition at the WBFF Worlds in Miami, 10 years after winning the WBFF Bikini Pro World title. 

From her title win in 2014 to now. A near 30lb difference!

Returning to competition after being off the stage for a decade is a pretty big deal, and for Mandy, it will be very interesting to see what kind of look she will bring on stage. We're not sure if she will do Bikini or not because of the sheer amount of muscle she has put on her body since the last time she stepped on stage. She was around 115lbs when she won the title back in 2014. She is a bit over 140lbs now, and yes, a majority of that added weight has been dense muscle. Since most of her muscle has went to her legs, we feel she will either do Wellness or Fitness Model, but that's for Mandy to speak of, not us. Heck, she just might end up staying in Bikini. We have no clue. Either way, we are extremely excited to see what kind of look Mandy is going to bring in in early August. Despite the amazing look she brought to WWE, we have a gut feeling we haven't seen anything yet and we will be looking at the hottest Mandy Sacs...EVER! IS IT AUGUST YET?! 

Oh...BTW, #MandyforVictoriaSecret (if you know, you know) 

A recent photo of Mandy. She is going to put this look to shame come August!

Follow Mandy at the following links:

Her Instagram: https:/www.instagram.com/mandysacs
Her Twitter/X: https://www.x.com/mandysacs
Power Alphas Podcast: https:/www.youtube.com/@PowerAlphasPodcast
Her OnlyFans: https:/www.onlyfans.com/mandysacs
Her FREE OnlyFansTV: https:/www.of.com/mandysacstv
Her TikTok: https:/www.tiktok.com/@mandysacs
All her other links: https://amandasaccomanno.komi.io/

Our Take on WWE's Newest Swole Queen, Mandy Rose

There are some people that come around once in a lifetime. Those people that no matter what, you take one look at them and go..."WOW...This person is going places". That is pretty much the vibe many are getting at when they look at WWE Superstar Mandy Rose. Her wrestling career hasn't been the longest by any means, but thus far there has been no indication of why she should NOT be one of WWE's biggest Superstars going forward.

Photo credit: WWE on Instagram

Real name Amanda Saccomanno, Mandy was born and raised in an Italian-American family in Westchester County, New York, and is the youngest of four children. She is of Italian and Irish heritage. For her education, she attended Yorktown High School, where she participated in dance. She felt that dancing was what she would end up doing professionally down the line. She ended up joining the Yorktown High School Dance Team and pretty much killed it as one of their top dancers. But over time, she felt dancing wasn't her true calling after all and decided into looking into fitness modeling instead. She later earned her bachelor's degree at Iona College, where she major in speech pathology, as well as beginning to take her fitness and physique much more seriously now. It got to the point where modeling agencies were beginning to notice her.

Once she was done with college, she decided to focus on fitness competitions, as she felt that (rather than dancing) would be the key to a successful career. To say fitness was definitely the right call for her would be an understatement. In 2013, she would enter the World Bodybuilding Fitness and Fashion (WBFF) Boston show and won it, to the surprise of many. After that, she took some time off to make up her mind on whether she was truly going to continue her fitness competition path. She ended up doing that and would go on to compete in the 2014 WBFF World Championships in the Pro Diva Bikini division and took top honors. That win would draw the attention of more people.

Mandy winning the 2014 WBFF Pro Bikini World Championship
Photo credit: WBFF

Even after being a World Bikini Champion, Mandy felt like she could do more with her career and discovered wrestling and decided to give that a try. She would enter the revived WWE Tough Enough competition (under her real name, of course and came in at a billed 120 pounds...this will become important later on in this blog piece) and gained a good deal of publicity on the matter. Not all of it was good, though. While she would meet her current bestie Daria (now known as Sonya Deville) on the show, she rubbed a good deal of people the wrong way, intentionally and unintentionally. Her progression was threatened by a near-quick exit from the show until the Miz pulled out her save card and she was spared from an early elimination (Thanks Miz!) from the show. She ended up making it all the way to the finals where she lost to Sara Lee, who won the contract and the money, yet never appeared on WWE TV after Tough Enough, which ended up being another case of losing making you a bigger winner down the line...which is exactly what happened to Mandy once Tough Enough was done.

WWE liked her look a lot and decided to bring her on for one season of Total Divas. After that, she joined the Performance Center and made a couple of NXT TV appearances, most noticeably a mini-feud (if you want to call it that) with Ember Moon. That match made quite a bit of people open their eyes and go "Okay, she might be more than looks after all!" She would show that through various NXT live events, gaining somewhat of a cult following, do to being a photographer's dream and the shock of fans when they realize just how strong Mandy really is, hence the formation of "The Golden Goddess"

People were beginning to wonder whether she would make a full-on NXT run or move right up to the main roster. After what seemed like forever, we finally got our answer the night after Survivor Series 2017. Raw had a Fatal 4-Way match to determine who would be next in line to face Alexa Bliss for the Raw Women's Championship and during the match, Paige made her shocking return to WWE, and she didn't come alone. Mandy (and her bestie Sonya) arrived and (with Paige) unleashed hell on practically every woman in WWE for weeks. Named Absoultion, they took down nearly everyone who stood in their way, until an unfortunate accident at a Raw live event injured Paige to the point that she will never be able to compete in the ring again. This put Absoultion in disarray, and there was uncertainy for both ladies, even though they got to make history during their time in Absoultion, entering the 1st-ever Women's Royal Rumble, Women's Elimination Chamber, and Wrestlemania Women's Battle Royal. Mandy and Sonya were both drafted to Smackdown Live, where Paige now runs things as General Manager. She made it clear the first night Mandy and Sonya appeared on Smackdown Live that Absoultion was dead and neither woman would get special treatment from her. And while we are unaware of how WWE views Sonya for the long run, it seems WWE has seemingly made it clear that they see something special in Mandy Rose, as on the May 8th edition of Smackdown Live, she entered her Smackdown debut match against Becky Lynch (1st-ever Smackdown Women's Champion) with a new entrance (complete with blurry effect) and new music and won a quick yet decent match against the Lass Kicker. She has been dubbed "God's Greatest Creation" since Ember Moon (War Goddess) and Alexa Bliss (The Goddess of WWE) have already claimed the Goddess titles.

(The following photos are from mator1267 on Instagram)

During her time in WWE, from NXT to now, she has put on an good amount of muscle on her, to the tune of 20 POUNDS. For someone that's only 5 foot 4, that's a lot. To put this in perceptive, if Mandy were to compete in the National Physique Committee (NPC) as a female bodybuilder, she would BARELY be able to compete in the light-heavyweight division. She revealed her weight in her Instagram story. But then again, when you can leg press over 500 pounds and deadlift over 400 pounds, you can't be a small chick. In the first-ever WWE PC Combine, she placed 3rd among the women, with only Bianca Belair and Ember Moon besting her. Her muscle size, strength, and overall beauty to us makes her the best COMBINATION of muscle and beauty since Trish Stratus in her prime, and even in her prime Trish didn't even have nearly the power nor the size Mandy currently has (Trish was 120 at her heaviest), and we can only see Mandy getting stronger going forward. We say combination because there are those that are definitely stronger than Mandy but maybe not as beautiful, those more beautiful than Mandy but not as strong, and those that are definitely more jacked/toned than Mandy but might lack the beauty and/or strength.

140 Pounds of Muscle...and looking great doing it!
Photo credit: Mandy's Instagram Story

When you look at her past in high school, college, the WBFF, and wrestling, Mandy really is unlike any blonde that has come in WWE in a while. A college degree, a background in dancing, a former world fitness bikini champion, lifting PRs that would put even some of the strongest MEN to shame, and constantly learning in the ring with each match...Mandy has everything it takes to succeed in WWE and be one of the company's top stars for quite some time. When it's all said and done, we don't think she will be known as the second coming of anyone. She will be the first (and ONLY) Mandy Rose.

Credit to Greatest Physiques (https://www.greatestphysiques.com/amanda-saccommano/) for some of the content used in this blog piece. 

For more on Mandy Rose, follow her on Twitter (@WWE_MandyRose), Instagram (mandysacs), and her WWE-ran Facebook page. You can also follow her on Snapchat under mandysacs.

2014 FitGems Nation Woman of the Year Nominees

Last year, we decided to have a high honor for the top lady in the industry for the year of 2013. Dana Linn Bailey won the 1st-ever FitGems Nation Woman of the Year honor by a landslide. We are doing this once again, honoring the top ladies of 2014. 16 women were chosen as having the biggest impact on the industry. We have omitted DLB from the list as she won last year but she will be eligible for next year's award.

Here are this year's nominees:

• Nicole Wilkins
• Emily Stirling
• Juliana Malacarne
• Sabrina Taylor
• Oksana Grishina
• Tanji Johnson
• Candice Keene
• Ann Titone
• Iris Kyle
• Alina Popa
• India Paulino
• Amanda Latona
• Ashley Kaltwasser
• Latorya Watts
• Camala Rodriquez-McClure
• Wendy Fortino

Voting for this award (as well as the other FitGems Awards) will begin this Monday (December 1st) and will go on all month. Voting details to come in the following days. 

Congrats to all the nominees! 

Celebrate "Monica Brant Week" Next Week on FitGems Nation!

This time of the year is always big, as we are closer and closer to the Olympia, the biggest show of the year for this sport. This year, in addition to what is looking to be one of the most competitive Olympias in years, a legend steps on stage for the final time on a show that's widely gaining a lot of popularity. On August 23-24, the WBFF (World Beauty Fitness & Fashion) Finals will take place in Las Vegas, and Monica Brant, who many look at as arguably the top physique competitor of all time, will step on stage for the final time in her illustrious career.

Monica Brant in 2010 WBFF Worlds. 

In honor of her swan song and her career, FitGems Nation is proud to announce that we will be dedicating all of next week to Monica Brant, beginning on Monday and ending on Saturday. Photos, videos, and testimonials from fellow competitors and fans will be posted throughout the entire FitGems network (our main website, Facebook, Twitter, possibly Youtube and even the revamped MySpace). If you have any photos or videos of Monica that you would like to share with us, or if you have any words that you like to share about your experience with competing with Monica or want to talk about how she has influenced you as a person, please email us at admin@fitgemsnation.net, placing Monica Brant Week in the subject line. Also, for those using Facebook and Twitter, we will be using the hashtag #MonicaBrantWeek , and we encourage you to use this all week long next week if you can.

Hope you join us in celebrating the career of one of the best competitors to ever step on stage!

Update on Wrestling's Fitness Knockouts

Last month, I made a post about how TNA Knockouts Rosita and Madison Rayne were making their fitness competition debuts this year. This past weekend, both ladies, as well as fellow former TNA Knockout Roxxi (real name Nicole Raczynski), made some serious waves in the fitness world, including one of them making a big case heading into one of the biggest events on the year this weekend.

Rosita and Roxxi competed in the WBFF New England this past weekend and BOTH ladies placed in the top ten in their divisions. Roxxi has been competing for quite a while, but this was Rosita's first fitness competition. Congrats to both ladies on their awesome performances at the WBFF New England.

Madison Rayne entered the Jenn Hendershott All Women's Weekend and Big Shott Classic and competed in bikini and placed 2nd in her class. Adding to her win a few months ago, she is riding a big wave of momentum entering the NPC Nationals this weekend. Should she place in the top two in her class, she will become an IFBB Pro, and will join a very elite class of people to be a top active wrestler AND a pro in the fitness world. 

Once again, we congrats all three ladies on a job well-done this past weekend and wish them all best of luck as they move ahead in their careers, on stage and in the ring! 

FitGems to have Hall of Fame

For those that might or might not know, I proposed an idea on the Facebook fan page about possibly doing a Hall of Fame to honor competitors of the past. The response was a definite YES, so thanks to you, we ARE going to do a Hall of Fame. The way it's going to be done is a select panel of competitors and industry members will send in the top 10 competitors they would like to be seen in the Hall of Fame in order, and write down ONE fitness celebrity that has contribute to women's fitness (that's NEVER BEEN a competitor). Here's how the scoring will be:

Whoever they list first will get 10 points, 2nd will get 9 points, 3rd 8 points, 4th 7 points, 5th 6 points, 6th five points, 7th 4 points, 8th 3 points, 9th 2 points, 10th 1 point. The 7 ladies with the highest point total will be put into the Hall of Fame. For the fitness celebrity, it will be the person whose mentioned the most by the panel. In the event of a tie, there will be a run-off vote.

Who is eligible to be in the FitGems Hall of Fame?

1. This is a FEMALE COMPETIORS Hall of Fame, meaning no guys (at least not right now)
2. The competitor(s) must either have competed for at least a decade or total of 10 years OR she has retired and its been at least 5-10 years since their last competition.
3. They can be from any federation, even ones from the past
4. We ask that if the person is still competing, that they have to competed at least 10 years. 
5. The inductees can be living or deceased. 

The FitGems Hall of Fame Class of 2011 will be revealed the weekend BEFORE the 2011 Olympia. This is not being created as a joke, this is something that I wanted to do to celebrate and honor the past competitors. Who would you like to see be inducted this year? If you follow us on Twitter, use the hashtag #fitgemshalloffame when you send us your suggestions. If you are on our Facebook page, leave a comment in the discussion panel. 

Good luck to all competitors! :)

Monica Brant...Dancing with the Stars?

If you're a fan of fitness, then you have obviously heard of Monica Brant. If you haven't, before you read this thread, you might want to Google her name and spend a little bit of time getting to know who she is. To be honest, it's hard to be a fan of this industry and NOT know who Monica is.

On her official Facebook page, Monica has stated that she would like to be part of the popular dance show Dancing with the Stars (DWTS for short). If she was to be on the show, I think she would have a legitimate chance of making it far in the show...heck, maybe even win it! I mean, she doesn't have just one of the most impressive physiques in the industry; she's also among of the best athletes in the industry as well. I personally think it would be cool to see one of our own on one of the biggest shows on television.

For those that are not her friends on Facebook, here's her exact message.

Hi Friends~ I have been thinking a lot over the past several months about various goals and interests I have.  I have always been athletic and love dancing so one of my goals is to be on Dancing with the Stars.  At first I thought me.. Dancing with the Stars..can I do it?  And then I said YES!  They have never had an athlete from the Bodybuilding &  Fitness Industry as a contestant, so why not try to be the first! Can you see it now..Monica Brant, WBFF Figure Pro Champion & Dancing with the Stars Contestant. Ha! Ha! Makes me giggle!  I need your help.  Can you write to ABC and request I be considered for next years season.  The more people that speak up, the greater chance I have! Then, I can get passes for all of you to come and watch! Ha! Ha!  I would not be able to even consider this without all of your years of support! Love you all!xoxo

To consider Monica for a spot on the next Dancing with the Stars, go to the link below and let ABC know that you want to see the fitness icon on DWTS. Remember, the more people speak up, the better chance of Monica's goal to be on Dancing with the Stars a reality!

http://abc.go.com/site/contact-us

WBFF Heading to USA in 2011

As first reported on BodySport.com, the WBFF (World Bodybuilding and Fitness Federation) is going to have a few shows in the United States in 2011. This is a big step for the ever-growing federation, which has seen top fitness icon Monica Brant join the WBFF back in the summer and reaching new popularity over the last four year. WBFF will be entering year 5 next year, and things are looking to be bigger then ever for them.

Many people have wanted to be part of this for a while now, but with most of the shows being in Canada, for the most part, it was impossible. Now with this expansion, expect the WBFF to continue to reach greater heights yet maintain their trademark production and treatment of athletes that they are best known for.

Here's the dates for the shows next year:
April 16 - Connecticut
May 21 - Kansas City
June 25 - Rhode Island

For more on why WBFF CEO Paul Dillett decided to make this change and could more come from this expansion, click here, and for more on the WBFF go to http://www.wbffshows.com.

2nd Annual FitGems Awards...Time to Nominate Your Favorites! (DEADLINE EXTENDED)

It's that time again, for the 2nd Annual FitGems Awards. Last years was a great success, so we're going it again this year with a few new categories and a few minor changes to last year. Below are the categories for this year.

Nominate up to FIVE people for the following categories, with the top 6 nominations being on the ballot:
NPC Show of the Year
IFBB Show of the Year
Female Physique Site of the Year (non-competitor) (NOTE: FitGems is NOT eligible due the fact that FitGems is running the contest)
Female Competitor Blog of the Year
Photographer of the Year
Blogger of the Year
Industry Blog of the Year (by a fan, industry member, company, etc.)
Female Physique Paysite of the Year
Male Supporter of the Year (through shows, message boards, donations to competitors, etc.)
Female Competitor Site of the Year
Supplement Company of the Year
Pro Female Bodybuilder of the Year
Pro Figure Competitor of the Year
Pro Fitness Competitor of the Year
Pro Bikini Competitor of the Year
Amateur Female Bodybuilder of the Year
Amateur Figure Competitor of the Year
Amateur Fitness Competitor of the Year
Amateur Bikini Competitor of the Year
International Female Bodybuilder of the Year
International Fitness Competitor of the Year
International Figure Competitor of the Year
International Bikini Competitor of the Year
Breakout Pro Female Bodybuilder of the Year
Breakout Pro Figure Competitor of the Year
Breakout Pro Fitness Competitor of the Year
Breakout Pro Bikini Competitor of the Year
Breakout Amateur Female Bodybuilder of the Year
Breakout Amateur Figure Competitor of the Year
Breakout Amateur Fitness Competitor of the Year
Breakout Amateur Bikini Competitor of the Year
Competitor Who You Would Love to See Return To the Stage in 2011
Fitness Entrepreneur of the Year (Model/Trainer/Spokesperson)
Moment of the Year (when certain people win a competition, return to the stage, retire, etc. This is for any federation and can be about any of the divisions)

Ones to Watch in 2011 (nominate up to two people for each category with the top 5 nominations to be placed on the ballot)
Pro Female Bodybuilders
Pro Figure Competitors
Pro Fitness Competitors
Pro Bikini Competitors
Pro Women's Physique Competitors (should this happen in 2011)
Amateur Female Bodybuilders
Amateur Figure Competitors
Amateur Fitness Competitors
Amateur Bikini Competitors
Amateur Women's Physique Competitors
Fitness Entrepreneur (Model/Trainer/Spokesperson)

You can send me the nominations through Twitter (http://twitter.com/fitgemsnation), email (admin@fitgemsnation.net), or leaving a comment on this post. I'll also take your nominations through private messages (PMs) through the following message boards:

Siouxcountry (under cray17)
RxMuscle (under FitGems)
FTVideo (under cray2005)
Unreal Muscle (under FitGems)
Muscular Development (under cray17)

You can nominate between now and November 19th November 27th (DEADLINE HAS BEEN EXTENDED) On November 19th 29th at Noon Central Time, the nominees will be announced via a FitGems Award Nominations Live FitChat. More details on the exact time as we get closer to the date. After that, voting will begin that same day and will last through all of December, with the winners announced mid-January. Exact date has yet to be determined.

Good luck to everyone! :)

WBFF to Have Biggest Weekend Yet This Coming Weekend

We all know that the Olympia is fast approaching (next weekend, to be exact), but before that happens, all eyes will be on the World Bodybuilding and Fitness Federation (WBFF) World Championships. This event could very well be the turning point for the WBFF for one major reason...Monica Brant. The biggest icon in this sport's history will be making her WBFF figure debut this weekend, after leaving the IFBB after competing in that organization for 16 years.

Monica Brant to make her WBFF debut this weekend
Photo credit: RxMuscle.com

For those that followed Monica throughout her career (and let's be honest, who hasn't?!), Monica always comes with the physique that many fans in IFBB would LOVE to see be rewarded, as opposed to the soft look that is awarded in IFBB figure today. Throughout her entire career, she has won only one IFBB title, and that was the 1998 Fitness Olympia title. She would be close to winning a few figure championships, but would always loose to people whose physiques were not deemed championship quality (other people's words, not mine). Monica could have quit a while back, but instead, she kept at it for the fans, knowing that she would never win an IFBB title.

In the summertime, she shook the figure world by announcing that she was leaving the IFBB for the WBFF. People couldn't believe what they were hearing, and people reacted with excitement, while some didn't feel it was the right move. Mo felt like this was a business decision, as she felt the WBFF could do wonders for her career. A change of scenery, if you will. There are those that feel her physique would be well suited for the WBFF, as in their Figure division, tighter, more muscular looks are rewarded. Look no further than Monica's competition this weekend for proof of that: Emily Stirling.

Emily Stirling: Arguably THE face of WBFF Figure
Photo credit: WBFF

Emily has been viewed by many WBFF fans to be the face of the WBFF Figure division, and it's clear to see why. She has amazing conditioning and muscularity that is popular with figure fans yet it not to the extreme of bodybuilding. Her leg development is among some of the best in figure, regardless of federation. For those that don't know Emily Stirling, she's competing in the WBFF since it's inception in 2007 winning the overall title that year then placed second to Diana Chaloux the following year. Last year, the WBFF launched their pro figure division and Stirling, the organization's first figure pro ever, won her second World Championship title. That time, though she did it as a pro figure competitor. With these accomplishments, it's no wonder why many consider Emily to be WBFF's First Lady.

It's no secret that the IFBB/NPC is the biggest and best physique federation in the world, but you would have to be a complete lunatic to ignore how big this weekend is for not only the WBFF, but for the entire muscle world as well. All eyes will be on the WBFF to see if they can deliver. Monica has been said to be in the shape and condition she wants to be. No doubt Emily will be in the best in her career. And what about the rest of the ladies who will be competing? It's obvious that they will all be stepping up their game to stand besides an icon such as Monica.

I will be doing my best to get coverage of this event, as this will no doubt be a turning point for the WBFF and for figure in general, regardless of federation. To Monica, Emily, and everyone competing in the WBFF World Championships this weekend, FitGems Nation wishes you all best of luck and can't wait to see what the WBFF can do! IFBB, you're not the only dog in the yard anymore!!! :)

BREAKING NEWS: Monica Brant...New WBFF FIGURE PRO!!

Monica Brant: Goodbye IFBB, Hello WBFF!!

Yes, your eyes are NOT deceiving you. Monica Brant, the most iconic female in IFBB history, is leaving the IFBB organization for the WBFF! Bodysport.com broke the HUGE news hours ago, and my jaw was literally on the floor. To say that this is a groundbreaking announcement is nothing short of an understatement.

I will be posting more on this later on in the week, but for now, what are your thoughts on this major news? How do you feel about Monica's jump from the IFBB to the WBFF? Smart move or career killer? Has the winds changes in this industry forever, and this time, NOT in IFBB's favor? Leave a comment below.