Bodybuilding coach Neil Hill can see the 2025 Mr. Olympia going four different ways. In a recent YouTube video aired on Sept. 19, he named his top four picks for the event and emphasized that Nick Walker at 100% could win the title.
The race to the 61st Joe Weider’s Olympia Fitness & Performance Weekend is on. There are fewer than three weeks before competitors gather onstage, and discussions about who will win are heating up. Reigning champion Samson Dauda will aim to extend his reign after losing the Arnold Classic against Derek Lunsford.
Lunsford also won the Pittsburgh Pro, defeating Walker in a sudden-death tie-breaker round. He’ll have plenty of momentum heading into the show. Meanwhile, Choopan, who won the title in 2022, is finally in the US after securing his visa. Hill, the coach of Classic standout Mike Sommerfeld, gave his vision of how the event might conclude.
Neil Hill Names Top 4 Picks at 2025 Mr. Olympia, Says Nick Walker at 100% Could ‘Scalp’ the Lineup
In the YouTube video, Hill laid out his top-four contenders for the 2025 Mr. Olympia.
“Those are the guys who are going to be battling in that top three. I’ve named four athletes: Samson, Derek, Hadi, and Nick — I just don’t see anyone else challenging unless any of those guys are not on.”
He maintains that defeating Dauda will be a tall task, especially after witnessing his improved conditioning during a guest posing in Romania.
“I feel it’s going to be very difficult for Samson to be beaten. My only constructive comment with Samson, is I saw that recent guest posing he did in Romania. He looked incredible. But don’t forget: he’s on his own, stage lighting, everything, but I think he’s in an incredible place,” Neil Hill said.
He cautioned that Dauda could lose the muscle he needs to be competitive if he shreds down too much:
“As long as he doesn’t lose so much muscle that he, with his height and structure, doesn’t have enough muscle to be competitive. That’s a question mark. Ultimately, he’s still superior with his shape and structure over Derek, over Hadi, and over Nick.”
“For me, I’d like to see Samson win again.”
While he acknowledges that Dauda, Lunsford, and Choopan have better shape and structure than Walker, he believes “The Mutant” can still win the Sandow trophy if he brings the best look of his career.
“Nick is the wildcard. Who is going to be able to outmuscle Nick? Probably nobody.
But the truth is, shape and structure, Derek is still superior, Hadi is still superior, Samson is still superior, but I also feel that Nick, if any of those guys are not 100% and Nick brings his 100%, then he’s going to scalp. He’s going to scalp them, there’s no doubt about it.”
He adds that Walker winning the Mr. Olympia could be positive for the sport, since it’ll show that judges award hard work and perseverance.
“That would be a positive thing for the industry in some ways. You can’t not reward somebody’s hard work, and if they bring their lifetime best, you’ve got to look at them.”
Walker has given his prediction for the 2025 Mr. Olympia. He picked himself to win, followed by Dauda, Choopan, Lunsford, and Martin Fitzwater. Bodybuilding legend Flex Wheeler joined the conversation as well. He mentioned that Dauda, Choopan, and Lunsford are all in the running to secure gold.
This is one of the most stacked Open lineups the Olympia has seen. Don’t miss live coverage of the event when it takes place from Oct. 9-12 in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Watch the full video from the Overcome Cast YouTube channel below:
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