The 2025 Mr. Olympia will go down as one of the most memorable. Recapping the action on Oct. 14, Jay Cutler and Milos Sarcev reflected on Nick Walker’s drop to sixth and Andrew Jacked’s dominant performance.
Samson Dauda entered the 2025 Mr. Olympia as the reigning champion but walked away in fourth place. The finals saw Derek Lunsford and Hadi Choopan battle it out for gold. Ultimately, Lunsford narrowly won, defeating Choopan by just two points on the scorecards.
One of the biggest shocks of the weekend was Andrew Jacked. Having faced criticisms for the last three years, he finally brought a title-worthy physique. He pushed into third place, though many fans believe he had the structure and detail to win the entire show.
Nick Walker was another wildcard set to shake up the roster. However, his peak fell apart at prejudging, according to his coach, Kyle Wilkes. “The Mutant” had to settle for sixth place, despite giving Lunsford a run for his money earlier this year at the Pittsburgh Pro.
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Jay Cutler, Milos Sarcev Disappointed in Walker’s Physique at 2025 Mr. Olympia, Talk Andrew Jacked: “He Showed Up”
In the video, Cutler touched on the Olympia results, sharing his disappointment in Dauda for losing his wow factor.
“I expected Derek to win on shape and proportions… we knew Hadi was going to be tough. Samson was a little disappointing. He definitely listened to the judges, and they said, ‘Come in leaner.’ It didn’t work for him. He lost the wow factor.”
He was surprised by Jacked’s showing and believes he’d be a frontrunner at the 2026 Arnold Classic should he enter:
“Andrew Jacked shocked us all. We’re going to have a big discussion about that. I think he’s the next guy. If he goes to the Arnold, I think he’s got a big chance there.”
Sarcev shared that Jacked was at his best thanks to bigger legs and the new striations in his glutes.
“Andrew Jacked finally showed up like we’ve always wanted him. A day before, Jose Raymond was showing us a video with striated glutes,” said Milos Sarcev. “If he had striated glutes and a little bit more volumized legs, he’s going to be very hard to beat, and that’s pretty much how he showed up.”
Although Jacked impressed onstage, “The Mind” said Lunsford’s muscle thickness and width made his v-tapper even stronger, which contributed to his success.
“Samson being there or not being there, they were still going to have to compare Andrew, the towering man, with two shorter guys. For that reason, put Derek and Andrew Jacked. Derek is shorter; he looks so much thicker and wider per square inch.
Then, he creates the illusion of even more v-taper, and with more muscle. Andrew Jacked looked more conditioned because he has those deep abs, striated pecs, things going on. He had feathered quads, a good back double, back lat spread, abs and thighs, it’s second to none.”
As for Walker, Sarcev argued that playing the size game worked against him. He also shared that Walker didn’t control his midsection, and his legs didn’t look as refined compared to his package in Pittsburgh.
“He tried to get bigger. He was saying he was going to be eight pounds heavier but those eight pounds didn’t go in the right direction, and then he didn’t control the stomach like he said he will. Legs were flat-ish, I thought he improved the legs by Pittsburgh, and here it was not so convincing.”
“Nick Walker was a disappointment,” said Cutler.
With the 2025 Mr. Olympia in the rearview, attention is now turning to the next major bodybuilding contest. The 2026 Arnold Classic takes place in March, and Arnold Schwarzenegger confirmed that the Men’s Open winner will earn a historic $750,000.
The Men’s Open hierarchy has been rearranged heading into next year. Cutler and Sarcev are confident that Jacked is next in line at the Olympia based on his breakthrough performance.
Watch the full video from the Cutler Cast YouTube channel below:
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