The 2025 Mr. Olympia contest goes down in 15 weeks, and bodybuilding veterans are giving their thoughts on the frontrunners. In a recent YouTube video shared on June 26, 2025, Dennis James and Chris Aceto discussed how Derek Lunsford can beat Samson Dauda in October.
In 2023, Derek Lunsford secured the Mr. Olympia title, cementing himself as the sport’s first-ever two-division champion. While he aimed to replicate that performance a year later, Samson Dauda brought an all-time best package to secure his maiden Sandow trophy in 2024.
Dauda and Lunsford later traded blows at the 2025 Arnold Classic. Ultimately, Lunsford, backed by Chris Aceto, emerged on top, proving that he could defeat Dauda after dropping to third at the last Olympia. Now, attention is shifting to their next battle, where the stakes will be at their highest.
Dennis James Talks Derek Lunsford’s Chances of Beating Samson Dauda at 2025 Olympia: ‘I Think His Motivation Must be at an All-Time High’
In the YouTube video, James made it clear that Lunsford has to improve from his Arnold Classic showing to beat Dauda.
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“At the Olympia, to win it, he’d have to be better than the Arnold, I think. Not massively better than the Arnold, but he has to have all of what he had at the Arnold,” said Aceto.
“We saw at the Arnold he can beat Samson if Samson is not on,” explains Dennis James. “Derek looked phenomenal. I don’t think it was even a question from the minute he stepped onstage until they put the trophy in his hands that he’s going to win this show.”
James stressed that Dauda has yet to peak at 100% for a contest, which could open the door for a motivated Lunsford to regain his title.
“That alone has got to be enough motivation for Derek, first of all, to be the first guy to win all three major shows in one year, that’s one. Another thing is to regain the Mr. Olympia title, and I think his motivation must be at an all-time high to do it.”
“That’s why I say it’s possible, it’s just going to be super hard. He knows he can beat Samson when Samson is not on. You kind of have to bank on this that Samson is not going to peak 100% because we haven’t seen Samson peak 100%,” shared Dennis James.
Chris Aceto chimed in, revealing that Dauda has struggled to bring lights-out condition to the Olympia stage.
“It’s a challenge for Samson too because we all want to see lights-out condition on him, and if he doesn’t have lights-out, the critics will be like, oh, why can’t he get Hadi’s condition?
Nobody can, actually. The criticism is going to be why can’t he get dry, they don’t say it like Hadi. Some people just that’s their gifts. Why can’t Hadi get 10 pounds bigger? Because he can’t,” explains Chris Aceto.
Already, voices of the sport are laying out who they believe will crack the first callout. Rich Gaspari predicted Dauda would walk away with the big win and argued Derek Lunsford would secure a top-three position with Nick Walker landing in the top five.
Lunsford has gotten the better of Dauda before, leaving fans unsure who will win the sport’s most prestigious title in the months to come. The 2025 Mr. Olympia will be held in Las Vegas, Nevada, from October 9-12.
RELATED: Derek Lunsford And Ramon Dino Tackle Monster Leg Day With Olympia-Level Intensity
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