The dust is still settling after the historic 2026 Mr. Olympia Weekend wrapped up. In an October 5 video, Shahriar Kamali (King Kamali) broke down how Nick Walker managed to win the Sandow trophy. In addition, he predicted that most top Men’s Open competitors will enter the 2027 Arnold Classic.
Walker was doubted heavily before he made his way to Las Vegas, Nevada. A year prior, “The Mutant” dropped to sixth place, the lowest Olympia finish of his career. He bounced back impressively at the 2026 Arnold Classic, but took a close second place behind Andrew Jacked (Chinedu Andrew Obiekea). It was a painful loss; Walker left without the title and missed out on a massive $750,000 winner’s purse.
Despite the setback, he returned better than ever at the 2026 Tampa Pro. After winning the show handily, the bodybuilding community expected him to be in the top three at the prestigious event. Ultimately, “The Mutant” exceeded those expectations and nailed his peak to become the 20th Mr. Olympia. With a whole new Men’s Open landscape, Kamali discussed what’s ahead for the sport’s top stars.
King Kamali Recaps Walker’s Mr. Olympia Win, Looks Ahead to 2027 Arnold Classic
In the Iron OG‘s YouTube video, Kamali explained why he thinks most Men’s Open stars will compete in Columbus, Ohio.
“I think they are all going to do this [the 2027 Arnold Classic]. For $800,000, Andrew, all the top guys are going to be there. Krizo will be there. Regan will be there. Tonio will be there. They’re all going to be there.”
As for the Olympia, he noted that the stars aligned for Walker even though Dauda brought a winning physique to the finals:
“The key about Nick Walker about this Olympia was, all the stars were aligned. I was in the second row. I was seeing and hearing, listen to what I just said, seeing and hearing everything. He was by far the fan favorite. By far, he got the loudest noise. By far, he had the most people cheering for him. Of course, he won the People’s Champ Award. He just had the wind behind him.”
“He lost Saturday night. Just look at the scoresheet. Don’t listen to us.”
Kamali didn’t have an issue with the judging, emphasizing that it’s inherently subjective.
“Listen, there’s always something involved. There’s always preference. This is a subjective sport,” shared Kamali. “It’s tricky but you have to be there.”
“When Samson walked out at the finals, the judges are hearing the comments. They are hearing, and every single body around the judging panel was like, good lord, look at Samson. They are like yeah, they can feel the tide changing just from the people’s comments around.”
Overall, he believes most IFBB Pros would rather have Dauda’s physique than Walker’s.
“Samson’s arms are about 25 inches. Nick’s arms are about 23, 24 inches,” said Kamali. “Samson in the eyes of the IFBB Olympia judges, got straight number ones across the board at the finals. If you go ask any professional bodybuilder, whose physique would you rather have: 100 percent Samson, 100 percent Nick? I’d say 9 out of 10 would say Samson.”
While Walker is making a quick turnaround at the 2027 Arnold Classic, not everyone thinks it’s a wise move. Shawn Ray and Bob Cicherillo argued that it’s a mistake for Walker to compete so soon. They believe he could lose momentum in the same way Dauda did back in 2025.
Fans will get to see Walker and Dauda rematch in just a few months. The 2027 Arnold Classic takes place from March 4-7 in Columbus, Ohio.
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