Questions about who will become the next Mr. Olympia champion are surfacing ahead of the show’s return. On August 17, 2025, bodybuilding veteran Lee Priest discussed the lineup and revealed four competitors who could win the title.
In 2024, Samson Dauda shocked the world by claiming his first Mr. Olympia title. He defeated finalists Derek Lunsford and Hadi Choopan to become the 19th athlete to earn the Sandow. Though he attempted to pick up a second gold trophy at the Arnold Classic in 2025, Dauda ultimately lost the rematch to Lunsford in Ohio.
Attention is turning to the Mr. Olympia this October, and some of the sport’s biggest names are issuing predictions. Thus far, Jose Raymond and Milos Sarcev have argued Choopan would regain his Olympia crown, while Dennis James believes Dauda will likely remain on top. With only eight weeks before competitors step onstage, Priest previewed some of the bigger names expected to make waves in the first callout.
Lee Priest Discusses 2025 Mr. Olympia, Names 4 Frontrunners Who Could Win
In the video, Priest named four contenders who could win the Mr. Olympia in 2025:
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- Hadi Choopan
- Derek Lunsford
- Samson Dauda
- Nick Walker
Unlike Dorian Yates‘ era, Priest explained that the Mr. Olympia is so close it’s challenging to determine a winner ahead of time.
“Now, even looking at this year’s Olympia, you could be like is Samson going to win it? Maybe Derek can take it out.
Maybe Hadi is going to come in and take it out or maybe Nick can blow everyone out the water. I think it’s a bit more exciting now. A lot of these shows you don’t really know who the clear winner is going to be.”
He adds that from a fan’s point of view, the sport has never been more exciting.
“From the fan standpoint, it makes the shows a bit more fun. Normally, when Dorian was in a show, it was like okay, Dorian is winning, who is second and third or Ronnie is going to win, who is second and third? Now, you can’t really pick who is going to win this year’s Olympia,” shared Priest.
Priest has been curious whether Choopan will actually make it to the US in time for the Olympia. He opened up on President Trump’s travel ban, which included Iran. Priest shared that his heart wants Choopan to compete while his gut is telling him it probably won’t happen.
Priest can see the 2025 Mr. Olympia contest ending in a variety of ways. The event is set for October 9-12 in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Watch the full video from the Overcome Cast YouTube channel below:
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