The official countdown to the 2025 Mr. Olympia is underway. On Sept. 25, ahead of the event, Urs Kalecinski shared his top picks for the Men’s Open and Classic Physique divisions.
For the first time in his career, Kalecinski will test himself against contenders in the Men’s Open at the Olympia. He made the sudden jump from Classic Physique and shocked the world, laying claim to back-to-back victories at the ProMuscle Italy Pro and Europa Pro Championship.
With Kalecinski’s absence from Classic Physique, that leaves room for a new contender to break into the top four. Among those gunning for Chris Bumstead‘s vacant title are favorites Ramon Queiroz, Terrence Ruffin, Logan Franklin, and Mike Sommerfeld.
Urs Kalecinski Gives Top Picks for the 2025 Mr. Olympia
Find his picks from the video below:
Open Bodybuilding
- Winner — Samson Dauda
- Second Place — Derek Lunsford
- Third Place — Nick Walker
- Fourth Place — Hadi Choopan
- Fifth Place — Martin Fitzwater
- Sixth Place — Andrew Jacked
Classic Physique
- Fighting for Top 3 — Ramon Queiroz, Mike Sommerfeld, Terrence Ruffin
- Fourth Place — Logan Franklin
- Fifth Place — Niall Darwin
- Sixth Place — Jose Manuel Munoz
- Seventh Place — Breon Ansley
Terrence Ruffin, who claimed wins at the 2025 Pittsburgh and New York Pro, has significant momentum heading into the most prestigious event of the season. He also laid out his top picks ahead of the competition. Ruffin picked himself to win, Sommerfeld in second, Queiroz in third, with Darwin and Jose Manuel Munoz trailing behind.
In addition, “Ruff Diesel” revealed his predictions for the stacked Men’s Open division. He believes Dauda is poised to pull off a successful title defense. Then, he argued Nick Walker would take runner-up, with Hadi Choopan and Derek Lunsford securing third and fourth.
It’s not just active competitors—bodybuilding veterans are revealing who they believe will walk away with the Sandow trophy. While he wouldn’t declare a particular order, bodybuilding legend Jay Cutler, who amassed four Mr. Olympia titles, sees the contest four ways: either Walker, Lunsford, Dauda, or Choopan will claim gold. If Lunsford or Choopan are successful, they would join Cutler as the second bodybuilder to ever regain the Sandow trophy after losing it.
Dan Solomon, the Olympia President, has announced that this year’s competition will award historic prize money, and in 2024, Dauda secured a $600,000 purse. Don’t miss full coverage of the 2025 Mr. Olympia, slated for Oct. 9–12 in Las Vegas, NV.
RELATED: Nick Walker Shares His Top 5 Picks for the 2025 Mr. Olympia
Watch the full video from the Urs Kalecinski YouTube channel below:
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