In less than four weeks, the ‘Super Bowl of Bodybuilding’ will take over Las Vegas. On August 29, Phil Heath explained how Nick Walker can win the 2026 Mr. Olympia. Additionally, he opened up about the Men’s Open lineup and what could prevent Samson Dauda from reclaiming gold.
The 2025 Mr. Olympia saw Samson Dauda and Nick Walker struggle. Ultimately, “The Nigerian Lion” lost his title to Derek Lunsford and fell to fourth place. Meanwhile, Walker mistimed his peak and claimed sixth place, the lowest Olympia finish of his career.
Each contender took different paths back to title contention. For Dauda, a lengthy off-season was in order, so he could regain the size he lost in pursuit of drier conditioning. Walker carried on and jumped into the 2026 Arnold Classic. While he didn’t win the show, he came close and pushed Andrew Jacked en route to silver.
The New Jersey native recently qualified for Olympia after dominating the 2026 Tampa Pro. With the Olympia approaching, Heath gave his opinion on the top contenders expected to clash.
Phil Heath Says Nick Walker Can Win 2026 Mr. Olympia, Reveals Dauda’s Ultimate ‘Nemesis’
In the video, Heath explained that Walker has the tools to win the sport’s greatest title but warned that he’s up against a strong lineup:
“Look, he took Derek to the brink of a so-called sudden-death posedown in Pittsburgh last year. I think Nick has what it takes, but Derek is on fire, Andrew is on fire, Samson is on fire. Let’s just hope and pray that these guys stay healthy.”
“I told him, you did well at Tampa, and I asked him a question: can you get better than that? He said yes. I said great. Now, you got to do that for two days. You do that for two days, and you’re in the hunt.”
He also acknowledged Lunsford’s chance to become a three-time Mr. Olympia champion.
“Derek has a great opportunity, obviously, because he hasn’t won two in a row. I think him having this opportunity, and if he wins two in a row, it’s only going to boost his confidence even more. At the end of the day, you’re going to be confident if you know you have these guys’ numbers Friday and Saturday night.”
As for Dauda, “The Gift” emphasized that we’ve yet to see him at his all-time best.
“I don’t think we’ve seen Samson’s best, based on what we saw in 2024. Samson has to be better than 2024 because last year, he didn’t come in the way that he should. Andrew Jacked, he still has some areas in his physique I think he needs to improve, but he still has enough to go beat these guys.”
“None of these guys are going to be peaked for two days, no one,” he said. “We got to make sure that we see people on Friday be able to hold for Saturday.”
Heath pointed out that Dauda’s Achilles’ heel is hard, shredded conditioning. If he can overcome that weakness, he expects Dauda to be incredibly hard to beat.
“I’m not saying that Samson doesn’t look good. I do feel like Samson’s nemesis has always been nailing the hard, shredded conditioning. If he can do that at the size that we are seeing, it’s going to be extremely difficult for anyone to step up to that. You’re not going to outpose him, but he’s been outconditioned. But if he could put it all together, we will see something very unique.”
Despite struggling last season, some bodybuilding veterans like Walker’s chances looking ahead. Former four-time Mr. Olympia Jay Cutler argued that Walker could win the contest. Judge Terrick El Guindy has also stated that if Walker is ‘on’, he can win the prestigious event.
Cash prizes, bragging rights, and trophies are on the line in under one month. The 2026 Mr. Olympia takes place from September 24-27 in Las Vegas, Nevada.
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