{"id":14132,"date":"2026-02-17T16:08:00","date_gmt":"2026-02-17T16:08:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/worldbodybuildingnews.com\/?p=14132"},"modified":"2026-02-17T16:08:00","modified_gmt":"2026-02-17T16:08:00","slug":"king-kamali-picks-andrew-jacked-to-win-2026-arnold-classic-fitness-volt","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/worldbodybuildingnews.com\/?p=14132","title":{"rendered":"King Kamali Picks Andrew Jacked to Win 2026 Arnold Classic \u2013 Fitness Volt"},"content":{"rendered":"


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Shahriar Kamali, well known as King Kamali, is laying out how the 2026 Arnold Classic might end. He took to a YouTube video on Feb. 17 and explained why he\u2019s backing Chinedu Andrew \u2018Jacked\u2019 Obiekea<\/a> to win over Hadi Choopan.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

The moment the 2025 Mr. Olympia<\/a> results were announced, the Men\u2019s Open division had a new pecking order. Jacked was the biggest surprise of the night. Despite flying under the radar, he presented his fullest, most conditioned look onstage. He earned third place behind Hadi Choopan<\/a> and Derek Lunsford<\/a>, giving him a surge of momentum in the packed division.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Jacked won the Romania Pro<\/a> days later, securing his qualification for the Olympia. With passage to Olympia no longer a concern, the Nigerian mass monster has dialed in his prep in hopes of securing the second most prestigious title in the sport.\u00a0<\/p>\n

King Kamali Backs Andrew Jacked at 2026 Arnold Classic, Talks Hadi Choopan and Martin Fitzwater Chances\u00a0<\/h2>\n

When asked if he had to bet money on a potential winner, Kamali reluctantly chose Jacked. He pointed out that Choopan\u2019s performance could suffer from the \u2018collateral damage\u2019 going on in Iran.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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\u201cYeah, I\u2019m going to lean and go with Chris right here [Andrew Jacked]. If, but I will say if, Hadi wasn\u2019t having all these political issues and all that stuff, and it was just him going into the show, I would have Hadi ahead of Andrew a little bit\u2026 but because of all the collateral damage and all that stuff, I\u2019m going to have to say Andrew is going to have it.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

As for Martin Fitzwater\u2019s potential, Kamali argued that his placement will depend on how Brandon Curry<\/a> shows up:\u00a0<\/p>\n

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\u201cIt depends on Brandon. I still like Brandon, man,\u201d said Kamali. \u201cBrandon is getting old, Brandon this, but I still think Brandon can\u2026 I mean, it depends on which Martin shows up.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI watched some of those videos, you know, one scoop of peanut butter with three drops of oil, I\u2019m like what the fuck happened? What happened to grilled chicken and fuckin rice? Were we doing something wrong back then? I don\u2019t know, man,\u201d he said<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Choopan has endured a tumultuous prep en route to Columbus, Ohio. His home country of Iran is embroiled in political unrest, with peaceful protests<\/a> taking over the region. Despite these tensions, Choopan, fortunately, has received his visa.\u00a0<\/p>\n

There\u2019s no telling how these outside factors will affect Choopan\u2019s performance. However, it\u2019s enough for King Kamali to back Andrew Jacked leading into the 2026 Arnold Classic, set for March 5-8 in Columbus, Ohio.\u00a0<\/p>\n

RELATED:<\/strong>\u00a0Shawn Ray Questions Hadi Choopan\u2019s Chances at 2026 Arnold Classic, Doesn\u2019t Agree With Samson Dauda Growing to 350 Lbs<\/a><\/p>\n

Watch the full video from the Iron OGs YouTube channel below:\u00a0<\/em><\/strong><\/h4>\n\n
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Shahriar Kamali, well known as King Kamali, is laying out how the 2026 Arnold Classic might end. He took to a YouTube video on Feb. 17 and explained why he\u2019s backing Chinedu Andrew \u2018Jacked\u2019 Obiekea to win over Hadi Choopan.\u00a0 The moment the 2025 Mr. Olympia results were announced, the Men\u2019s Open division had a […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":14133,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"tdm_status":"","tdm_grid_status":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[152],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-14132","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-ifbb-pro"},"yoast_head":"\nKing Kamali Picks Andrew Jacked to Win 2026 Arnold Classic \u2013 Fitness Volt - World Bodybuilding News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/worldbodybuildingnews.com\/?p=14132\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"King Kamali Picks Andrew Jacked to Win 2026 Arnold Classic \u2013 Fitness Volt - World Bodybuilding News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Shahriar Kamali, well known as King Kamali, is laying out how the 2026 Arnold Classic might end. 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