Derek Lunsford Revisits Viral Showdown with Andrew Jacked and Says the Encounter Showed him Something About his Rival\u2019s Mentality<\/strong><\/h2>\nDerek Lunsford<\/strong><\/a> has not forgotten his heated training exchange with Andrew Jacked<\/strong><\/a> earlier this year. In fact, the reigning Mr. Olympia<\/a> says the encounter gave him a glimpse into the mentality of one of the biggest threats to his title<\/strong>.<\/p>\nLunsford recently revisited the viral \u201cOlympia Battle<\/a>\u201d training session where he famously questioned how Jacked planned to win the Olympia if he was unwilling to train legs<\/a>. What initially appeared to be some entertaining pre-Olympia trash talk apparently meant much more to Lunsford.<\/p>\nSpeaking on Olympia TV, Lunsford said Jacked\u2019s response during the workout left him feeling \u201cdisrespected\u201d and ultimately convinced him that he had seen a weakness in his rival as a competitor.<\/p>\n
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<\/a><\/div>\nDerek Lunsford Says He Saw \u2018Weakness\u2019 in Andrew Jacked<\/strong><\/h2>\nAs Generation Iron previously reported, Lunsford and Jacked went back and forth during the Olympia Battle event in May. When Jacked wanted to train shoulders instead of legs, Lunsford immediately pounced.<\/p>\n
\u201cHow are you gonna win the Olympia if you\u2019re not gonna train legs?\u201d Lunsford said at the time. \u201cYou\u2019re never gonna win the Olympia\u2026 as long as I have anything to do with it.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Months later, Lunsford explained that there was more behind those comments than fans may have realized.<\/p>\n
\u201cHow does this guy come in, this is his first Olympia battle, and he\u2019s not Mr. Olympia, and how does he get to decide this?\u201d Lunsford said.<\/p>\n
The defending champion said he viewed Jacked\u2019s reluctance to follow his lead as a lack of effort.<\/p>\n
\n\u201cI just felt like it was total disrespect, and it was a lack of effort. There\u2019s a softness of a mentality that I got to witness firsthand right there.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n
Lunsford made a point to separate his assessment of Jacked as a competitor from any judgment about him personally. However, when it came to the competitive side, he did not mince words.<\/p>\n
\n\u201cFor me, it let me see the real mentality of who he is as a competitor. As a person, I\u2019m not gonna judge, but as a competitor, I saw weakness, for sure.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n
Lunsford vs. Jacked Heads to the Olympia Stage<\/strong><\/h2>\nThe exchange adds another layer to a rivalry that has been brewing throughout the 2026 season.<\/p>\n
Jacked did not simply absorb Lunsford\u2019s trash talk during their original encounter. He fired back that their previous history would change when they met again, saying there would be a \u201cflip of the script.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Now they are days away from settling the argument where it matters.<\/p>\n
Lunsford enters Las Vegas as the reigning Mr. Olympia and will attempt to defend his Sandow<\/a> against a loaded Men\u2019s Open field. Olympia organizers themselves have identified Jacked alongside Samson Dauda<\/a> and Nick Walker<\/a> as among the serious threats to Lunsford\u2019s title.\u00a0<\/p>\nThe 2026 Olympia takes place Sept. 24-27 in Las Vegas, with Men\u2019s Open prejudging scheduled for Friday, Sept. 25 and the Mr. Olympia champion being crowned Saturday, Sept. 26.\u00a0<\/p>\n
You can find Generation Iron<\/a>\u2019s official preview and expert picks for Mr. Olympia here<\/a>!<\/p>\nWhat started with a disagreement over leg day has turned into something much more personal on the competitive side.<\/p>\n
Lunsford believes he saw weakness.<\/p>\n
Jacked will soon have the opportunity to prove otherwise.<\/p>\n
Image embed via Instagram<\/em> @horsepower_pro<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n
Lunsford recently revisited the viral \u201cOlympia Battle<\/a>\u201d training session where he famously questioned how Jacked planned to win the Olympia if he was unwilling to train legs<\/a>. What initially appeared to be some entertaining pre-Olympia trash talk apparently meant much more to Lunsford.<\/p>\n Speaking on Olympia TV, Lunsford said Jacked\u2019s response during the workout left him feeling \u201cdisrespected\u201d and ultimately convinced him that he had seen a weakness in his rival as a competitor.<\/p>\n As Generation Iron previously reported, Lunsford and Jacked went back and forth during the Olympia Battle event in May. When Jacked wanted to train shoulders instead of legs, Lunsford immediately pounced.<\/p>\n \u201cHow are you gonna win the Olympia if you\u2019re not gonna train legs?\u201d Lunsford said at the time. \u201cYou\u2019re never gonna win the Olympia\u2026 as long as I have anything to do with it.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Months later, Lunsford explained that there was more behind those comments than fans may have realized.<\/p>\n \u201cHow does this guy come in, this is his first Olympia battle, and he\u2019s not Mr. Olympia, and how does he get to decide this?\u201d Lunsford said.<\/p>\n The defending champion said he viewed Jacked\u2019s reluctance to follow his lead as a lack of effort.<\/p>\n \u201cI just felt like it was total disrespect, and it was a lack of effort. There\u2019s a softness of a mentality that I got to witness firsthand right there.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n Lunsford made a point to separate his assessment of Jacked as a competitor from any judgment about him personally. However, when it came to the competitive side, he did not mince words.<\/p>\n \u201cFor me, it let me see the real mentality of who he is as a competitor. As a person, I\u2019m not gonna judge, but as a competitor, I saw weakness, for sure.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n The exchange adds another layer to a rivalry that has been brewing throughout the 2026 season.<\/p>\n Jacked did not simply absorb Lunsford\u2019s trash talk during their original encounter. He fired back that their previous history would change when they met again, saying there would be a \u201cflip of the script.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Now they are days away from settling the argument where it matters.<\/p>\n Lunsford enters Las Vegas as the reigning Mr. Olympia and will attempt to defend his Sandow<\/a> against a loaded Men\u2019s Open field. Olympia organizers themselves have identified Jacked alongside Samson Dauda<\/a> and Nick Walker<\/a> as among the serious threats to Lunsford\u2019s title.\u00a0<\/p>\n The 2026 Olympia takes place Sept. 24-27 in Las Vegas, with Men\u2019s Open prejudging scheduled for Friday, Sept. 25 and the Mr. Olympia champion being crowned Saturday, Sept. 26.\u00a0<\/p>\n You can find Generation Iron<\/a>\u2019s official preview and expert picks for Mr. Olympia here<\/a>!<\/p>\n What started with a disagreement over leg day has turned into something much more personal on the competitive side.<\/p>\n Lunsford believes he saw weakness.<\/p>\n Jacked will soon have the opportunity to prove otherwise.<\/p>\n Image embed via Instagram<\/em> @horsepower_pro<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/a><\/div>\nDerek Lunsford Says He Saw \u2018Weakness\u2019 in Andrew Jacked<\/strong><\/h2>\n
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Lunsford vs. Jacked Heads to the Olympia Stage<\/strong><\/h2>\n