Though he’s headed off into the off-season, Derek Lunsford is still sizing up his competition. On Dec. 14, 2025, he made his case for why he and Hadi Choopan have fewer physique weaknesses than Samson Dauda and Chinedu Andrew ‘Jacked’ Obiekea.
History was made at the 2025 Mr. Olympia. Derek Lunsford reclaimed the Sandow trophy after losing it back in 2024 to Dauda. To secure gold, he had to get through an all-time best Andrew Jacked, along with his arch-rival Hadi Choopan.
Lunsford decided to skip the Arnold Classic in 2026, paving the way for a new champion to emerge. With a second baby on the way, Lunsford has time to prepare for a successful title defense when the Olympia returns next Sept.
Derek Lunsford Says He and Hadi Choopan ‘Superior’ to Andrew Jacked and Samson Dauda
In the video, Lunsford emphasized that he always performs better against bigger lineups.
“For me, I always do better when there’s a bigger lineup of people. When it’s just like me versus one other person, you can start picking apart each other a lot easier.
Go, wow, this guy looks great here, and he looks great there, and he beats him, blah, blah, blah. But when you have four, five, six, seven guys standing next to each other, that’s when I start to expose other bodybuilders.”
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He explained that genetics has played a role in his success, nodding to his width in the Men’s Open.
“Even talking about structure and size, with me being even a little shorter, I’m also wider than most taller guys. It’s definitely at that elite level, the very top genetics definitely do play a role,” he shared.
“First of all, you have fans of everybody. You have the tall guy fans, the short guy fans, you’ll have the Andrew fans and Samson fans, specifically, the Derek and Hadi fans specifically. Everybody is going to root for their favorite bodybuilder.”
According to the two-time champ, he and Choopan are more well-rounded than the rest of the Olympia lineup.
“I do believe that Hadi and I have been more superior in the past few years than Andrew and Samson. You can make an argument either way, sure, but remember what I said about balance and exposing other bodybuilders. I think that there is less weaknesses on someone like Hadi and myself than there is or has been on those two guys.”
With that in mind, Lunsford claimed that when all competitors bring their best, he and Choopan have the edge over Dauda and Jacked.
“What I’ve seen from Andrew and from Samson, when we all come in at our best, at our 100% best right now… I see myself and Hadi edging those two guys out.”
Moving on, Lunsford shared that his confidence going into next year is at an all-time high:
“I’m not scared to take second place. So, now, I’m actually more dangerous than ever because I don’t have that pressure to, oh my gosh, I can’t lose the title,” he said. “I’m not afraid to win, and I’m not afraid to lose.”
Not everyone was thrilled with Lunsford winning the Mr. Olympia. Former six-time titleholder Dorian Yates recently discussed his triumph. He believes Lunsford and many modern Mr. Olympias have a fridge-like appearance and don’t represent the ‘ultimate male physique.’
Lunsford will storm the 2026 bodybuilding season as the number one Men’s Open talent in the world. He believes Choopan is still his biggest threat on the Olympia stage.
RELATED: Chris Aceto Denies Rumor That Derek Lunsford Used PMMA Injections to Win 2025 Mr. Olympia
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