Nick Walker had an honest discussion with Fouad Abiad about where he sees his bodybuilding career going. In the interview (October 20, 2026), “The Mutant” said his goal was to break Jay Cutler’s Mr. Olympia and Arnold Classic records. Additionally, he explained why he wouldn’t lose momentum if he fell short at the upcoming 2027 Arnold Classic.
Walker headed into the 2026 Mr. Olympia as an underdog. He slipped to sixth the year prior, and most bodybuilding veterans did not have him winning. Ultimately, his muscle separation and granite conditioning stole the show. He beat Derek Lunsford for the first time in his career, and also took out Andrew Jacked and Samson Dauda en route to the title.
After winning the Arnold Classic back in 2021, Walker has struggled to reclaim gold at the prestigious event. With another massive cash prize on the line, he plans to make the most of this quick turnaround. And according to the Men’s Open star, even if he misses the mark in Ohio, that won’t dampen his chances for a successful title defense at the Olympia.
Nick Walker Aims to Break Cutler’s Mr. Olympia Record, Says Arnold Loss Won’t Kill Olympia Chances
In the video, Walker emphasized that one of his goals is to win more Mr. Olympias and Arnold Classics than Jay Cutler.
“If I could just beat Jay Cutler’s record, win around five Olympias and four Arnolds, I could retire, not retire, because I don’t know where I’ll be in that mental headspace at the time, but I could be done and satisfied.”
Even if he comes up short at the Arnold Classic, he doesn’t believe that hurts his momentum heading into Olympia.
“I don’t look at it like oh if Nick loses the Arnold, he loses that steam a little. No, because any show, anything can happen. I’m still at the top. I believe us four, and now we have Hadi in the mix, obviously, for the Arnold; any given moment, we can swap.”
“No [it doesn’t take steam off me] because I’m Mr. Olympia. There’s another show coming down that road. Me losing, cool, now I got to step my game up even higher,” said Walker. “I lost the Arnold, and it’s like oh man, Andrew is potentially going to win the Olympia. Then, I won, he’s in fourth, right? Us top four, or top five, because, Hadi, we could swap any placings at any show we do because we’re all that fucking good.”
Walker also laid out the only two ways he’d retire from the sport:
“God forbid I lose, but my heart is still in it, I’m not just going to be I’m done. For me, I’m going to keep riding this top for as long as I can. If god, four or five or six years down the road, I wake up and I just don’t have the heart anymore to do it, that’s when I’ll know my time. Or, if Prabh is coaching me and looks at me and goes, your body is not really… you’re getting old buddy. Then, it’s one of those things, you just got to accept what it is. But those would be the only two ways.”
“At the same time, knowing what kind of person I am, if I still got that fire under my ass, I’m like nah, we going to keep going brother.”
Not only is Walker looking to break Jay’s records, but he wants to become the next dominant Mr. Olympia titleholder. He said he plans to win the Arnold Classic and Mr. Olympia until 2030.
Walker is confident but measured heading into the 2027 Arnold Classic. The event is set to take place in Columbus, Ohio, from March 4-7.
Watch the full video from the Fouad Abiad Media YouTube channel below:
