by Christian Duque
It’s great news that Derek Lunsford will be doing the 2025 Arnold Classic. It’ll be interesting to see him on the same stage as reigning Mr O Samson Dauda, but it will be equally interesting not to see Hadi Choopan there. Whereas Samson left his old coach and has been working with his wife, Lunsford is said to have been working with his new coach for the last five weeks, according to his own statement. Some writers and influencers seem to believe they know who the new coach is. I can’t say that I do and if I said the name I think it is, I’d be totally speculating. I don’t know that that would really contribute very much to the conversation.
Lunsford does have a new trainer, which is significant, in that it shows he’s been proactive since Hany Ramrod decided to no longer train elite-level athletes. This move sent guys like Derek and Hadi scrambling. This might be why Choopan isn’t doing the contest he won last year. The fact of the matter is that The Persian Wolf is very much the #1 contender and that’s not going to change with regards to who wins in Columbus. That being said, if anyone but Samson wins the contest it’s going to send shockwaves throughout the fitness industry. The reason is because we’ll have a sitting Mr O competing at a smaller stage and not winning. We’ll delve into that point more throughout the article. If Derek wins, however, that’s going to definitely have an impact on the pecking order. What’s more likely to happen is that Derek places a strong 2nd. If Derek falls down the placings like Big Ramy did in 2022, that might be a substantial setback for the former champ.
Although Derek may have lost the Olympia to Samson, the Arnold Classic should offer him a real chance for a rematch. The Arnold Classic is the second most important show in bodybuilding and would afford the two Olympians a chance to battle down in front of an, arguably, larger audience. But wait a minute, how could the second biggest show have a bigger audience than the first biggest show? That almost doesn’t make sense, right?
Well it does in that the Arnold offers a FREE webcast and that webcast is of a better quality than the Olympia. At this past O, fans paid upwards of $80 to watch the Superbowl of Bodybuilding; however, the video quality was lackluster according to many and others complained of unbearable lagging issues. Imagine paying that kind of money only to find yourself cursing at your computer or handheld device because you want to watch the contest. These aren’t going to be issues felt by the millions tuning in to watch the Arnold Classic. With more eyes on the stage than even at the O, it’s going to be very telling how the judges compare the athletes and what vantage point the fans have. Whether that vantage point is center stage or watched on a laptop ten thousand miles away.
And you know that the more fans that can see the epic showdowns, the more activity there will be on Facebook Groups, message boards, Reddit and the various social media apps. The bodybuilding programs will also have material to talk about for the following 30 or more days. Now that may not sound like much; however, when you’re talking about the internet, 30 days can feel like an eternity. The truth of the matter is that a rematch between Lunsford and Dauda will be a blockbuster production. And although it should go without saying, let me stress that both guys are going to bring it. That’s noteworthy in and of itself because if Lunsford wins, it’s in Samson’s best interests to fight like hell. And besides that, Dauda is also a past Arnold champion. There’s no way he’s going into this type of show at anything but 100%. On the flipside, this is make or break for Lunsford. Let’s not forget that he didn’t just lose his first – and to date only – Olympia defense, but he took 3rd. He didn’t just lose the title to Samson, but he backtracked to 2022 where he placed second to Choopan. A win in Columbus is redemption for Derek. Placing 2nd is also not necessarily a move up because Hadi isn’t in the mix.
Samson needs this win to ensure that he maintains dominance over the sport. Normally, he wouldn’t need to win the Arnold. He won the Olympia and that’s all that matters. The problem is he accepted the invite and now it’s his face on all those contest posters. He can’t lose this contest. It would seem like his entire tenure would be akin to some kind of a fluke. And that would especially be the case if he loses to Derek. If he wins, it also needs to be a convincing win. A political win can be just as bad as getting knocked out.
For Dauda, winning is key, and the type of win necessary is also very critical. In a very real way this is the Samson and Derek show. I mean no disrespect to the other great guys competing, especially Andrew Jacked who is a future Mr. O and Martin Fitzwater who is also my pick to be the next Mr. O, but in terms of marketing, we’re going to see more and more of what the powers that be want. They’re going to hang their hat on this whole Champ vs Champ approach. It’s not a bad move, it’s just one that could easily escape their control like a runaway train. So far, the fans aren’t eating up, but we all know it’s only a question of time until they do. They won’t be able to get enough. And it’s the kind of showdown that will deliver.
It’s interesting that Nick Walker didn’t even toy with the idea of doing this show. He knows he would have gotten his ass handed to him. Naturally, he said the Arnold was “too soon” and set his sights for the Pittsburgh Pro. Who knows if he’ll even do that show. It’s the President’s show, but after Big Ramy skipped it and didn’t bother to say why for ten days, the fear factor of skipping the show hasn’t quite been the same. Plus, Walker could just as easily show up to hand out trophies and not compete. All they really care about at that contest is having big names in the building. As long as Nick walks around, he should be ok. But like I said earlier, even if Walker was to do the Arnold, which he’s not, it wouldn’t matter. It’s all about Samson and Derek.
The Arnold would also be a good way to see what Derek will look like for his first prep without Hany. I’m sure he’ll look fine, but the question is how will things go during the 48 hours prior to hitting the stage. Another factor to look at will be the time between prejudging and the finals. What, if anything, will Lunsford’s new coach be able to do? The prep may go down without a hitch. That would be nice, but it wouldn’t test the new partnership. In a real way, at least one or two bumps in the road may be secret blessings. Better these proverbial bumps come for the 2025 Arnold than they come for the 2025 Olympia.
While Derek (or any other ex-Mr O) are working against the odds to ever re-win the biggest title back, it’s a lot more plausible for an ex-Mr. O to beat a reigning Mr. O at the Arnold Classic. And that might just happen. If it does, how will that change the sport? Do you think Lunsford could topple Dauda? Or do you think Samson will hold off the pack, including Derek?