The 2025 Arnold Classic shook up the Men’s Open class, prompting Lee Priest to recap the major event. On March 11, 2025, he explained that Derek Lunsford’s shock value led to his triumph against Samson Dauda in Columbus, Ohio.
Heading into the Arnold Classic, Samson Dauda was a massive frontrunner, having previously defeated Lunsford at the 2024 Mr. Olympia to claim his maiden Sandow trophy. In the rematch, Lunsford’s lower body improvements were noticeable, which gave him a clear edge throughout prejudging.
Although Dauda appeared tighter and more conditioned in the finals, it wasn’t enough to close the gap. With Lunsford’s success, Priest explained how he achieved the unexpected while navigating prep with his new coach, Chris Aceto.
Lee Priest Says Derek Lunsford Rewarded at 2025 Arnold Classic for Improvements After Olympia Loss
In a recent YouTube video, Priest discussed the results of the Arnold Classic and suggested that Dauda wasn’t as conditioned as he was at the Olympia.
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“I thought it was a good show. Derek came in improved, and to me, I could have seen it going either way. Derek or Samson, but people said – that’s why I go by pictures and videos, but people said Samson wasn’t as tight as he was on Friday as he was at the Olympia, but Saturday they said he was better. Saturday, it was only a one-point difference.”
Although he thought Dauda looked great, Priest underscored that the judges favored Lunsford due to the leg improvements he made.
“Samson looked great, but I think the judges rewarded Derek on the improvements from the Olympia, which made it look like Derek made a big improvement, his legs filling out more and the conditioning.
I won’t say he looked bad, but he wasn’t at his best at the Olympia. Seeing the changes he made, I think he got rewarded for it.”
He believes Dauda might have been a ‘fraction off’ at the Arnold.
“Samson still looked great. He looked pretty close to the Olympia, if not maybe a fraction off whereas Derek, because he was off at the Olympia, he looked impressive at the Arnold because well, like I said, I won’t say he looked bad at Olympia but he wasn’t good.
So seeing him at the Arnold it’s like night and day where Samson was pretty close. When the judges saw Derek at the Arnold they were like oh yeah. He had that shock value coming back better,” he shared.
He was impressed with Andrew Jacked’s performance and would have been fine with him taking second place.
“Andrew didn’t look too bad. Give Andrew a bit more time and I think he’ll be up there going for a number one spot. When you look at some of those shots, him and Samson going pose for pose, they look pretty good, pretty close.”
“If Andrew got second I wouldn’t have had a problem either. Those three could’ve gone any way. They are all in good shape but like I said, it’s a subjective sport. It’s all about opinions.”
The results of the Arnold Classic set the table for another high-demand rematch on the Mr. Olympia stage. With how close it was in Ohio, Priest believes this won’t be the last time we see Lunsford and Dauda squaring off for a major bodybuilding title.
Watch the full video from the IFBB AMA YouTube channel below:
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