Derek Lunsford is taking a closer look at the Men’s Open division following the 2025 Mr. Olympia. In a recent video, aired on Nov. 18, he offered advice to Nick Walker and predicted Samson Dauda would re-enter the top three at the 2026 Mr. Olympia.
The last Mr. Olympia contest flipped the Open class on its head. Samson Dauda entered as the reigning champion but left Vegas in fourth place. His physique lacked its usual pop, and his legs appeared downsized, which led to the big drop.
The finals featured a three-man war between Lunsford, Hadi Choopan, and Chinedu Andrew “Jacked” Obiekea. Ultimately, Lunsford improved in the finals with a harder package and reclaimed the Sandow trophy. Meanwhile, favorite Nick Walker mistimed his peak and fell to sixth place. Taking stock of the landscape, Lunsford discussed what’s next for some of his biggest threats.
Derek Lunsford Discusses Walker’s and Dauda’s Future
In the video, Lunsford first opened up about his rivalry with Choopan:
“We have a rivalry, right? Not only do we have a rivalry because we went back and forth the last few years, but my previous coach was also his coach. Whether they worked together this year or not, I don’t know. I think that was a pretty interesting dynamic. I have a lot of respect for Hany for coaching me in the last few years.”
He urged Walker to stay resilient despite his disappointing performance at the Mr. Olympia.
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“It would be the same advice I gave Martin at Pittsburgh when he was disappointed backstage. I told him, hey man, listen, I’ve gotten kicked in the stomach plenty of times in this sport when I didn’t show up at my best or didn’t get the placing I hoped for, but I said you got to stay resilient, man,” he said.
To find success, Lunsford explained that Walker needs to establish a firm foundation for his preps.
“I would give him the same advice I gave Martin to Nick. Just remain steadfast in what you believe in, keep moving forward, but right now, maybe it’s important that you just get yourself set on a firm foundation.
You don’t need to be going from one thing to another. I know that’s what it looked like going from last year’s Olympia to the Arnold and all year, but I had to give myself a month to reset.”
As for Dauda, Lunsford argued he’d push back into the top three at the 2026 Mr. Olympia.
“I think you’re going to see likely a repeat of what you just saw this year, or Samson Dauda is going to come back and be in that top three. I think the top four is pretty solidified. I could be wrong.
Martin just beat Samson, but I think that Samson… I only hope that Samson has the same mentality as I did and wants to come back and prove that, no, this isn’t how it’s supposed to end for me.”
Attention has quickly shifted to the 2026 Arnold Classic. Judge Terrick El Guindy suspects that Lunsford will compete in Columbus, Ohio, but the reigning Mr. Olympia has yet to confirm his entry. However, he has promised that ‘one way or another’ he’ll be at the event.
As the newly crowned two-time Mr. Olympia champ, Lunsford once again has a huge target on his back. Time will tell if he decides to compete at the 2026 Arnold Classic, where a historic $750,000 prize purse awaits the winner.
Watch the full video from the OlympiaTV YouTube channel below:
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