Bob Cicherillo and Shawn Ray are keeping a close eye on the 2026 Arnold Classic roster. On Feb. 12, they laid out Nick Walker’s only path to victory at the event. They also predicted that the show will feature just three divisions in the future: Men’s Open, Bikini, and Fitness.
Nick Walker had huge hype throughout the 2025 bodybuilding season. He went toe-to-toe with Derek Lunsford at the 2025 Pittsburgh Pro, but lost narrowly in a sudden-death tiebreaker round. However, he rebounded quickly with a dominant win at the New York Pro. When it was time to test himself for a third time at the Mr. Olympia, Walker missed the mark, falling to sixth place.
In the wake of the crushing loss, he decided to part ways with his coach, Kyle Wilkes. Walker has captained his prep solo, and his sights are set on redemption. With the contest taking place in less than three weeks, Cicherillo and Ray sat down for a candid discussion.
Bob Cicherillo, Shawn Ray Explain How Nick Walker Can Win 2026 Arnold Classic, Says Show Could Cut Divisions in Future
In the video, Cicherillo underscored that Walker faces an uphill battle if he hopes to claim gold in Ohio. He believes the only way he can win is if Walker comes in at 100 percent and other contenders don’t.
“He’s got some shortcomings when it comes to his shape and proportions. Those guys don’t. So he’s automatically got an uphill fight. Does that mean he absolutely cannot win?
No. But he’s going to need help, I think from those guys, coming in off. 100 percent Nick and everyone coming in a little bit off, yes, anything can happen on a bodybuilding stage.”
They also predicted the Arnold Classic will likely shave off a few more divisions in the future:
“Not only do I not see him bringing back any of the categories that aren’t there anymore, but I wouldn’t go on a short limb to say that there’s probably other categories that won’t be there for the foreseeable future. Clearly, he’s not a big fan of the board shorts,” said Cicherillo.
“Honestly, I think they’ve kind of stepping stoned it down. I can see them only having literally a couple of divisions there.”
In Ray’s opinion, the Arnold Classic might only feature the Men’s Open, Bikini, and Fitness in the years to come.
“I see that Arnold Classic having Men’s Bodybuilding, Women’s Bikini, and Women’s Fitness, and calling it a day. And that’s not going to diminish the weekend because all those other divisions that are left out, those athletes will still go to the Arnold Classic because of the expo.”
Though he’s not competing any time soon, they also touched on Samson Dauda’s game plan to bulk for the 2026 Mr. Olympia. They believe if he’s over 300 pounds onstage, he won’t come close to reclaiming the Sandow trophy.
“It’s a recipe for disaster. If he’s anywhere north of 300, if he’s 301 [onstage], I’m going to guarantee you right now, and I’ll bet anything I got, Shawn, that he’s not even sniffing the title and he’s barely hanging on to the top five at that point.
The idea of Samson, whose Achilles heel is conditioning, was not up to par with Hadi or Derek Lunsford, or even Jacked at this point. Fitzwater, they are all beating him on conditioning,” said Cicherillo.
Predictions are rolling in ahead of the Arnold Classic. 212 bodybuilding veteran Jose Raymond previously laid out his picks. He sees Chinedu Andrew ‘Jacked’ Obiekea earning gold, with Hadi Choopan and Martin Fitzwater taking silver and bronze.
Should Walker bring major improvements, he could certainly stand a shot at winning his second title at the prestigious show. Fitness Volt will have live coverage of the 2026 Arnold Classic, set for March 5-8 in Columbus, Ohio.
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