The 2025 Mr. Olympia aftermath is still sending shockwaves through the bodybuilding community. On Oct. 21, Open class veteran Branch Warren broke down where Nick Walker can improve his physique moving forward. He also recapped the battle between winner Derek Lunsford and runner-up Hadi Choopan.
The Olympia reshaped the top of the Men’s Open division. While Walker headed into the event as a favorite, he mistimed his peak and dropped to sixth place. Former champion Samson Dauda also fell short and surrendered the crown to Lunsford en route to fourth place.
For the last three years, Choopan has taken silver on the Olympia stage, but this year, some bodybuilders found the results controversial. Lee Priest and Shawn Ray thought either Choopan or third-place finisher Andrew Jacked should have won. The latest to break down the action was Warren, who gave his assessment of some of the top contenders.
Branch Warren Talks Lunsford vs Choopan Battle at 2025 Mr. Olympia, Lays Out Problems With Walker’s Physique
In the video, Warren revealed that Walker’s wide waist, long torso, short legs, and lack of quad sweep have held him back onstage.
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“Nick, you know, Nick is a big, thick dude. Nick is my height, and I think he steps onstage probably 20-25 pounds heavier than I was.
The dude is huge, but the problem with Nick, he’s got a wide waist, he’s got a long torso, short legs, and his quads don’t match his upper body. He’s got these massive shoulders and back. He needs more quad sweep. He’s got these funky veins going on, love them or hate them, it distracts.”
He added that Walker didn’t seem ‘really off,’ but emphasized that he went up against genetically and structurally superior bodybuilders.
“I don’t think Nick was really that off. I think he just had five guys who are genetically and structurally superior to him. You got guys at this show, there’s depth. You got several guys that are big, they get really hard now, and they got great structure and shape, that leaves Nick as the odd man out. It’s going to be hard for him,” he said.
As for the top two, Warren thought it could have gone either way. He thought Lunsford looked better at prejudging, and Choopan was stronger in the finals.
“My thoughts on the placings… I think it could’ve gone either way. I was privy to the scores, so Friday night I think Derek finished in front. Saturday night, Hadi finished in front, but it wasn’t enough to overcome the deficit from Friday, and Derek ended up with the victory.”
“Hadi didn’t win by enough on Saturday night to overcome the deficit so he ended up in second. Both of those guys looked really good.”
Overall, he agrees with the judging, noting that it was extremely close.
“I agreed with actually how the scores came out because I thought Derek was the clear frontrunner after Friday’s prejudging. Finals, Hadi came in much better. I thought he won Saturday night, but it’s a two-day show,” he said. “Derek pulled it off.”
“It was super super tight.”
Priest also touched on how Walker performed in Vegas. He labeled him a frontrunner ahead of the show, but thought something went wrong in the final days in the lead-up to the Olympia. Priest has long been an advocate against peak weeks and argues that it often backfires for athletes.
The latest Mr. Olympia set the tone for another intense bodybuilding season in 2026. Warren acknowledged that it was close, but could see why Lunsford got the nod.
Watch the full video from The Long Haul Fitness YouTube channel below:
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