The 2026 The Unit Classic took place on September 19, 2026, in Essex, featuring ten athletes competing across five events. The events included the Log Lift, Deadlift, Super Yoke, Sandbag Medley, and Stone Over Yoke. At the end of the day, Evans Nana Aryee put on a stellar performance to take the overall victory.
Evans Nana Aryee laid the foundation for his title by winning two of the five events, topping the leaderboards in both the Log Lift and the Deadlift. His closest challenger throughout the contest was Oleh Pylypiak, who put heavy pressure on him early but ultimately ended up dropping significant points in the final two events.
2026 The Unit Classic Results
- Evans Nana Aryee — 40 points
- Jan Lacina — 37 points
- Matt Dimond — 37 points
- Oleh Pylypiak — 30.5 points
- Paul Smith — 30.5 points
- George Smith — 30 points
- Luke Ogbourn — 20 points
- Shane Nye — 15.5 points
- Bradley Paul Rollason — 14.5 points
- Phil Hawxwell — 13 points
Related: 2026 Giants Live Strongman Open & World Deadlift Championships Results
Event One — Log Lift
2026 The Unit Classic kicked off with the Log Lift event. So, the athletes had to pick up and overhead press a massive 152-kilogram (335-pound) Log for as many repetitions as possible. They had to push themselves, as the time limit was set to 75 seconds.
Evans Nana Aryee and Oleh Pylypiak were the two standout athletes in the opening event of the competition. Both of them ended up on seven repetitions, which meant that they had to share the event win.
Jan Lacina and Matt Dimond put in extraordinary efforts in an attempt to catch up with Evans and Oleh. However, they ended up falling one rep short of the winning duo. Consequently, Lacina and Dimond tied for third place.
- Evans Nana Aryee — 7 reps
- Oleh Pylypiak — 7 reps
- Jan Lacina — 6 reps
- Matt Dimond — 6 reps
- Paul Smith — 5 reps
- Luke Ogbourn — 3 reps
- Shane Nye — 3 reps
- Phil Hawxwell — 3 reps
- George Smith — 2 reps
- Bradley Paul Rollason — 2 reps
Event Two — Deadlift
Moving on to the second event of the 2026 The Unit Classic, the athletes took on a heavy Deadlift event. They faced a 340-kilogram (749.6-pound) barbell, which they had to pull and lock out for as many repetitions as possible. The time limit was set to 75 seconds once again.
The battle for the event win saw another epic duel between Evans Nana Aryee and Oleh Pylypiak, the same two men that topped the leaderboards in the opening event. However, Evans managed to achieve one rep more than Oleh, thus gaining the winning advantage. His final score came out to nine repetitions.
Oleh Pylypiak’s eight repetitions were more than enough to secure him a second-place finish in the event. In fact, five other men tied for third place, as each of them reached the limit at six repetitions.
- Evans Nana Aryee — 9 reps
- Oleh Pylypiak — 8 reps
- Jan Lacina — 6 reps
- Matt Dimond — 6 reps
- Paul Smith — 6 reps
- George Smith — 6 reps
- Phil Hawxwell — 6 reps
- Bradley Paul Rollason — 5 reps
- Shane Nye — 4 reps
- Luke Ogbourn — 2 reps
Event Three — Super Yoke
The midway point of the 2026 The Unit Classic was marked by the Super Yoke event. The implement that was used came out to a whopping 453 kilograms (998.7 pounds), which the athletes had to carry for 20 meters. It was a timed event, meaning that the goal was to reach the finish line as quickly as possible.
Oleh Pylypiak got back to winning ways with an incredible performance in the Super Yoke event. He moved with mind-blowing speed and finished the event in just 17.19 seconds. Due to his performance, Oleh moved into the overall lead with two events to go.
George Smith’s performance in the Super Yoke earned him a second-place finish, which turned out to be his greatest event result of the day. He crossed the finish line approximately one second after Pylypiak but managed to beat Evans Nana Aryee by 0.38 seconds. Aryee squeezed into third after beating Bradley Paul Rollason by just 0.03 seconds.
- Oleh Pylypiak — 17.19 s
- George Smith — 18.25 s
- Evans Nana Aryee — 18.63 s
- Bradley Paul Rollason — 18.66 s
- Paul Smith — 19.94 s
- Matt Dimond — 23.50 s
- Jan Lacina — 24.50 s
- Luke Ogbourn — 50.34 s
- Phil Hawxwell — 11 m
- Shane Nye — 0 m
Event Four — Sandbag Medley
The penultimate event of the 2026 The Unit Classic was the Sandbag Medley. It consisted of three implements weighing 140 kilograms (308.6 pounds), 150 kilograms (330.7 pounds), and 160 kilograms (352.7 pounds), all of which had to be carried and dropped on the opposite end of the competition floor. The goal was to complete the event in the quickest time possible.
Jan Lacina put up a dominant display in the Sandbag Medley, demonstrating impressive speed, agility, and power throughout the entire event. His final time came out to 28.03 seconds, which put him far ahead of everyone else.
Matt Dimond was the only other man who finished the event in under half a minute, which automatically secured him second place. Luke Ogbourn rounded out the top three by finishing the event in 32.28 seconds.
- Jan Lacina — 3 in 28.03 s
- Matt Dimond — 3 in 29.64 s
- Luke Ogbourn — 3 in 32.28 s
- Evans Nana Aryee — 3 in 34.38 s
- George Smith — 3 in 36.35 s
- Paul Smith — 3 in 37.26 s
- Shane Nye — 3 in 37.79 s
- Bradley Paul Rollason — 3 in 48.52 s
- Oleh Pylypiak — 3 in 48.81 s
- Phil Hawxwell — 2 in 26.50 s
Event Five — Stone Over Yoke
2026 The Unit Classic wrapped up with the Stone Over Yoke event. Only one stone was used and it weighed 180 kilograms (396.8 pounds). However, the goal was to load the stone over the yoke for as many reps as possible within a 75-second time limit.
Jan Lacina and Matt Dimond tied for the event win with six reps each. Moreover, seeing that Oleh Pylypiak walked away with no points, both Lacina and Dimond managed to secure a spot on the podium. On the other hand, Evans Nana Aryee’s three reps on the final event were enough for him to claim the overall 2026 The Unit Classic title.
- Jan Lacina — 6 reps
- Matt Dimond — 6 reps
- Paul Smith — 4 reps
- George Smith — 4 reps
- Evans Nana Aryee — 3 reps
- Shane Nye — 3 reps
- Luke Ogbourn — 2 reps
- Oleh Pylypiak — 0 reps
- Bradley Paul Rollason — 0 reps
- Phil Hawxwell — 0 reps
Related: 2026 Strongman Champions League Ohio Results — Andrew Langelaar Wins
Evans Nana Aryee is one of the most active professional Strongmen in the world, as he has taken part in 57 international competitions since 2022. Following his success at the 2026 The Unit Classic, Evans’ resume now boasts five victories. He has also taken part in three World’s Strongest Man competitions.
