Ray Williams is one of the most impactful figures ever seen in the powerlifting community. So, a lot of fans were thrilled to watch him compete at the 2025 AMP Classic Open Nationals, which took place on April 3-6 in Atlanta, GA. Moreover, Ray put up a very impressive performance, achieving his heaviest Total in the last six years. In turn, he walked away with the ninth National Championship title under his belt.
Ray Williams’ Full Performance Overview
Ray Williams has been working extremely hard, slowly progressing and returning back to his best. The improvements were evident in his performance at the 2025 AMP Nationals, as he successfully completed all nine of his attempts, thus perfectly executing his plan. Furthermore, Ray beat his closest rival by a margin of 107.5 kilograms (237 pounds) to take home another title from the National Championships.
Squat
The raw squat has always been Ray Williams’ trademark lift, as he has been the All-Time World Record holder for a number of years now. So, he once again put on a show, locking out 460 kilograms (1,014.1 pounds) on his final attempt. Ray revealed that he was capable of squatting more, but that he did not want to put too much pressure on his elbow prior to the bench session.
- 422.5 kilograms (931.5 pounds)
- 447.5 kilograms (986.6 pounds)
- 460 kilograms (1,014.1 pounds)
Bench Press
While preparing for the 2025 AMP Nationals, Ray Williams ended up popping something in his elbow. So, he ended up bench pressing 225 kilograms (496 pounds) on his final attempt, which was still very impressive. However, he initially had hopes of landing new PRs on the bench press, but it all fell through due to the injury.
“Definitely not the numbers I wanted, but 2 months ago I popped something in my elbow and it’s been a battle with bench and my bench was trending in PRish type of way,” wrote Ray Williams on Instagram.
- 210 kilograms (463 pounds)
- 220 kilograms (485 pounds)
- 225 kilograms (496 pounds)
Deadlift
Having conquered the harder part of the meet, Ray Williams was excited to show off the beltless deadlift that he has been working on. It resulted in a very impressive showing, as Ray managed to lock out 375 kilograms (826.7 pounds) with a conventional stance and a mixed grip. The lift came very easily for Ray, and he later revealed that there was more left in the tank.
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- 340 kilograms (749.6 pounds)
- 360 kilograms (793.7 pounds)
- 375 kilograms (826.7 pounds)
Total — 1,060 kilograms (2,336.9 pounds)
Watch all the lifts here:
Ray Williams is slowly inching closer to Jesus Olivares, who has been dominating the IPF World Championships in recent years. So, it is clear that the two will be involved in some massive battles in the upcoming period, especially once Ray fully overcomes his elbow injury.
Ray Williams has taken part in 30 sanctioned powerlifting competitions throughout his career, taking the win on 26 occasions. Those include 9x USA Nationals and a staggering 5x IPF World Championships. He has also set multiple World Records, including his 490-kilogram (1,080.3-pound) squat, which is considered to be one of the most incredible lifts in all of strength sports.
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