Reigning Mr. Olympia and Arnold Classic champ Derek Lunsford is teasing his next contest. In a YouTube video on Nov. 7, 2025, he confirmed ‘one way or another’ he’ll be at the 2026 Arnold Classic, scheduled for March 5-8 in Columbus, Ohio.
Lunsford made history at the 2025 Mr. Olympia. After losing his title to Samson Dauda a year prior, he exacted revenge, reclaiming the Sandow trophy to become a two-time titleholder. It wasn’t a walk in the park for Lunsford; he faced numerous setbacks en route to gold, including a pec tear and then a panic attack during the Olympia finals.
Having won the crown at the Arnold Classic last year, fans are curious if he’ll go after a title defense. Although Lunsford has another baby on the way, rumors suggest he plans to compete at the Arnold. Judge Terrick El Guindy confirmed his entry in a Prime Time Muscle podcast. To clear the air, Lunsford gave his take on what lies ahead.
Derek Lunsford on Rumors About His Next Contest: “One Way or Another, I’ll Be at the Arnold”
In the video, Lunsford was cryptic but said ‘One way or another, I’ll be at the Arnold.’
“Oh, who knows, man. Who knows? … We’re just going to leave it like that, not telling nobody. I mean, one way or another, I’ll be at the Arnold.”
As for his bodybuilding goals in 2026, Lunsford said he intends to bring a fuller, sharper look to the Mr. Olympia stage.
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“I got to keep working on my physique man. I’m 32 years old and yeah, we’ve accomplished a lot, and I think I’ve developed a physique that’s superior to the rest, at the moment, but listen, you can’t slack. You can’t take it for granted, right? You have a short window of time to be all that you can be. I just feel like I have more to improve.”
“I would like to bring a fuller, better, sharper look to next year’s Olympia. I think we all know where we need to improve. People were harping on my legs for a long time, well, this year, we brought my legs up. I think we just keep focusing on enjoying the gym and appreciating what we get to do,” said Lunsford.
Despite his status as the number one bodybuilder in the world, Lunsford isn’t underestimating his rivals:
“This is some of the best competitors we’ve ever seen, I think, as a whole, as a group, this is some of the best competitors we’ve ever seen on one stage at the Olympia.
I give them the most respect. I actually don’t really like when you got these other bodybuilding media podcasts, whatever, or even some of the peers in our sport, talking everyone down… You would think as a competitor, yeah, talk the other guys down, but I don’t like it. I want these guys to look at these guys how I view them, as great champions.”
Lunsford walked away victorious in Vegas; however, some veterans of the sport found the outcome controversial. Namely, Lee Priest, who suggested that Hadi Choopan or Andrew Jacked should have gotten the nod. He also thought Lunsford looked like he was in guest posing shape at the Olympia.
The stakes at the upcoming 2026 Arnold Classic are unprecedented. The Open winner will walk away with a massive $750,000 payday, the highest in bodybuilding history.
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