Reigning Mr. Olympia Derek Lunsford is determined to remain champ. On Jan. 10, 2026, he discussed his game plan and revealed his top two biggest threats.
Derek Lunsford overcame a pec tear and a panic attack to reclaim the Sandow trophy. In the finals, he battled with Hadi Choopan and Chinedu Andrew ‘Jacked’ Obiekea before coming out on top. Having won the prestigious honor back in 2023, Lunsford joined Jay Cutler as only the second athlete to regain Olympia gold after losing it onstage.
The contest had a few surprises. Fans expected Samson Dauda to retain his title, but his pursuit of better condition backfired. He came in downsized, dropping to fourth place. In contrast, Jacked presented his most complete physique to date. After the Men’s Open shakeup, Lunsford joined Samir Bannout on the Muscle Maturity Podcast to discuss what’s next for these contenders.
Derek Lunsford Talks Physique Goal for 2026 Mr. Olympia and His Top 2 Biggest Threats
In the video, Lunsford emphasized that he’ll have to improve to remain champion. He wants to present an almost flawless physique when he returns to the stage.
“I have to be. This is bodybuilding. You want to keep improving. If I brought the same physique against the same competition, the same thing would happen, but I can only assume that the competition is focused on improving. I have to do the same.”
“We’re constantly trying to achieve better, better, better, better to become almost flawless.”
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As for threats, he noted that Choopan and Jacked were his primary concerns.
“Based on what we’ve seen so far, I still think that Hadi has the most balanced physique at the moment. I’m interested, like all of us, to see what Andrew does.
I definitely think there’s a lot of improvement on him. But I think when you look at the side shots and the back shots, it’s a lot more challenging for Andrew going up against a guy like Hadi.”
He was unsure if growth alone would help Dauda get back to where he was:
“Now, Samson, he downsized for this Olympia. I’ve been there. I’ve been there where I took a different strategy, and I came in downsized and I said okay, I have to come back with a different approach and I came back better. I can imagine that’s what the mindset of Samson is having.”
“He seems to be on a mission of just grow, grow, grow. Yeah, sometimes that can work out good and sometimes not always the best strategy. At the end of the day, I think we’re definitely going to see a different Samson than what we just saw.
However, the champ stressed that Dauda’s balanced look makes him especially dangerous.
“I would like to think it’s going to be much improved, but his criticism was always coming in conditioned, as well as some of the back shots too. He’s challenging because he’s very balanced,” he said.
Looking ahead, Lunsford said Jacked was the biggest question mark, with the most room to improve.
“I know where they need to improve. I would like to think they probably know this too. You ask me about the challenges… I think that Hadi and the best version of Samson are the most balanced, along with myself.
That’s why I think that it’s a safe bet to keep me, Hadi, and Samson at the top, in terms of your overall pick, but like I said, we have guys… You don’t know what Andrew is going to do. How much improvement is he going to make?”
Fans and judges are discussing what it would take to knock Lunsford off his throne. Terrick El Guindy believes Choopan needs balanced legs and better conditioning to close the gap. Chris Cormier insisted that “The Persian Wolf” adapt his training to better suit his age.
Derek Lunsford wants to leave no doubt among the judges when he returns to the stage. The 2026 Mr. Olympia contest will take place from Sept. 24-27 in Las Vegas, Nevada.
