The 2025 Pittsburgh Pro was the closest contest in years. On May 14, 2025, via YouTube, bodybuilding legends Jay Cutler and Milos Sarcev recapped the show. They discussed Nick Walker bringing his best version to the stage and broke down the poses that led to his second-place performance against Derek Lunsford.
The Pittsburgh Pro featured the Men’s Open class for the first time, and it delivered. Despite doubts about his future in the sport, Walker proved the naysayers wrong. He presented his most complete package to date, from better symmetry to sharper poses.
A tie-breaking round in the finals determined the winner. Head judge Steve Weinberger explained that Walker got softer at the night show, whereas Lunsford got harder. Some fans have called Lunsford’s win a robbery. Bodybuilders Rich Gaspari and Dorian Yates thought Walker was the rightful winner. Now, Cutler and Sarcev are giving their take on the event’s conclusion.
Jay Cutler, Milos Sarcev Discuss the Pittsburgh Pro Results
In the recent YouTube video, Cutler and Sarcev praised Walker for bringing his all-time best. Sarcev believes ‘The Mutant’ is especially dangerous since he tied with Lunsford, who just defeated the reigning Mr. Olympia Samson Dauda in Ohio.
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“This is the best Nick ever. So, if this was the best Nick ever, that’s a force to be reckoned with and he was going against Derek, and it was a tie.
How close could it be? Derek just beat reigning Mr. Olympia, and this was a tie, and many people believe Nick should have won. Up until this moment, I would think Derek had that superior shape.”
Cutler thought Lunsford didn’t present the same level of quality on display at the Arnold Classic.
“If you beat an Olympia champion and now you tie with someone who was placing third three years ago, what does that do for you?” asks Sarcev.
“Nick Walker, this was probably one of his best versions. I would have to compare it to a couple of years ago. Derek definitely wasn’t signature Derek from the Arnold Classic, in my opinion. I wasn’t there. It’s hard for us, none of us were there.”
In light of Walker’s impressive showing, Sarcev believes he joins the circle of athletes who could potentially win the 2025 Mr. Olympia.
“Nick made a huge thing for his career. He’s now officially in the circle of potential winners of the Mr. Olympia, whether we like his physique or not. He delivered.”
“A lot of people thought he should have won,” added Cutler.
The former four-time Olympia champ said Lunsford looked top-heavy in the front double biceps pose.
“Looking at Derek right now, he definitely looks a little top-heavy, in my opinion where Nick, I don’t know if this is Nick’s best shot, people talk about this, but it definitely has improved, the v-taper.”
“Nick wins this pose,” shared Sarcev.
While the back double was thought to be a lock for Lunsford, Cutler highlighted the strength of Walker’s arms in this shot.
“You start looking at, okay, let’s put Nick’s arms into this rear double because you can’t miss the arms. When you really start critiquing it, and you look at the v-taper, and I just don’t see Derek, he’s not hitting his normal shots. I feel he’s not hitting the shots like he normally did.”
Ultimately, each athlete won four mandatory poses, and Cutler said they posed them until someone broke onstage.
“Remember it was four to four is really what it came down to and they ended up in a tie and it came down to round after round, who broke first as far as the judges’ opinions,” shared Cutler. “Derek’s legs look great right there when he puts a bow to them and stomps on them [in the most muscular].”
Cutler hasn’t been the only bodybuilding icon to give his take on the controversial results. Seven-time Mr. O Phil Heath also tackled the topic. He didn’t call Lunsford’s win an outright robbery, but said there have been many times where elite bodybuilders felt they won an event even though the judges didn’t see it that way.
Without an Olympia qualification, Walker has confirmed his entry for the 2025 New York Pro. Don’t miss his performance when he hits the stage this weekend on May 17.
Watch the full video from the CutlerCast YouTube channel below:
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