by Christian Duque
As of press time, 2002 Mr Olympia Hadi Choopan has posted physique updates four days in a row. And he hasn’t posted photos with goon lighting or standing in the shadows, rather, he’s posting videos showing off his entire physique. As of press time, Choopan hasn’t made it onto the 2025 Arnold Classic invite list, but everyone will be glued to their phones, tablets, and computers come Friday. To quote Nick’s Strength And Power – who despite having me blocked, is the most popular YouTuber on the planet – “Hadi is the only guy who could beat Samson.” And I would happen to agree wholeheartedly. In fact, I think Hadi had Dauda beat at the 2024 Mr Olympia, but that’s old news now.
Please don’t get me wrong as so many others in the sport have already done so but I really truly believe that Hadi had Samson defeated. And the reason for that is because Choopan brought tremendous improvements to his physique even at that very high level that is the Olympia top 3. I believe that Choopan should have retained the title when Derek won it and believe Hadi had Samson beat – even if it had been by the skin of his teeth.
This is not to say that Samson didn’t look phenomenal but he did not knock out Hadi in my humble opinion. Now that being said, Samson is looking absolutely phenomenal with a tiny waist and tremendous amounts of muscle. A couple of weeks ago I wrote an article for Iron Magazine where I pointed out that I didn’t agree with the fact that the reigning champion was ballooning up to 325 lb. I don’t actually believe he weighs that much even though that is what many of the pundits are saying but if he does weigh that much and he’s able to keep that tiny waist, then I will happily stand corrected.
As far as I’m concerned, numbers on a scale do not make you the best at anything, especially not bodybuilding. I’m a purest in that sense but I know that I am in the minority at this point, especially when it comes to the Olympia. The Olympia has become a sort of mass monster contest since Big Ramy. We had escaped that back in the 2000s when Ronnie and Jay retired but I guess here we are again. That being said, I still don’t feel comfortable calling Samson a mass monster. He’s VERY aesthetically-pleasing and doesn’t fit in that box in my opinion. What about yours?
In any event, I think that Hadi is doing the right thing by staying in near-contest shape. The question is what is he getting ready for? Does he know something we don’t? If he had any inkling to do the Arnold Classic there’s no doubt in my mind he would get an invitation. plus he has already won the contest in the past and Arnold (himself) would love to have him on his stage.
Plus you can’t ignore the fact that the 2025 Arnold Classic will pay half a million dollars for the top prize. Plus this would be validation for Hadi who was unable to win back the Olympia in 2024 from Derek. Not only was he unable to win it back from Derek but he took second to Samson who he had never placed behind in his career. While many people think that Hadi should have won the title back this year, not only did he not win it back but he lost it to a new guy. I don’t think he will win it back in 2025, either. This is because in the 60 plus year history of the Olympia only one man, Jay Cutler, has ever come back after defeat to win the Sandow again. The math is just not on any other bodybuilder’s side.
As I have said before in articles for Iron Magazine and various videos for StrengthAddicts, I believe Hadi is wasting his time by trying to win back the Olympia. It was the same for Brandon, the same for Dexter, the same for Phil, the list just goes on and on. No matter how hard they try and no matter how great they look it’s just not in the cards. Now the Arnold classic, on the other hand, is a whole different story. They don’t have that Olympia bullshit in Columbus. And when I say bullshit I’m not suggesting that the show is rigged or that it’s dominated by politics, but you have to at least give me the fact that in 60 years it’s only happened once that a former champion wins back the title IS WEIRD. Maybe it’s just 59 years worth of coincidences but I think something very bizarre is up. And I also think this is why Kai Greene stopped competing at the Olympia and opted instead for the Arnold Classic. The money is right there, the prestige and the bragging rights are there, and the world tunes in for Arnold much in the same way as the Olympia. In fact they may tune in to the Arnold more because the Olympia webcast is usually not very good at all. And on top of that the Arnold Classic webcast is free; whereas, the Olympia one costs an arm and a leg. That’s pretty ironic, wouldn’t you say?
Now the big twist will be if Friday, Hadi is not invited to the Arnold Classic, then what? I suppose they could always invite him later on but then what is he’s getting ready? What if he’s not even getting ready for the stage? Maybe there’s a movie role, maybe he’s coming out with his own supplement line under Evogen? There’s all sorts of things that could be afoot.But one thing is for certain, Hadi has often been considered a hermit when it comes to social media. When he was on top he rarely came out with content. And now he’s putting out updates 4 days in a row??? That’s very interesting. And I have got to tell you as someone who’s got his finger on the bodybuilding pulse, the fans are growing more and more restless by the hour. They want to know what the hell Hadi is doing and they want to be there to witness it.
I would urge the Arnold staff to invite Hadi to do their show but I don’t think it requires much urging. I think that they would love nothing more than to have Hadi and Samson on their stage. That is the kind of showdown that’s going to sell tickets and drum up incredible support for the contest season afterwards. Right now we are in a lull. Even though there are more shows later in the year and even though there may be shows earlier in the year to start off the new season, there’s still about a good 60 days where nothing really happens in bodybuilding. And seeing Hadi post as frequently as he has this week, it’s certainly thrown a monkey wrench into what would otherwise be the hibernation period of the sport. Nobody is quiet right now. You can go on the Facebook groups, the sun-rE Reddits, the message boards, and everybody and their mother is talking about how good Hadi looks and what the hell is he preparing for!!
I personally would love to see him on the Arnold Classic stage. Whether he beats Samson or not is really irrelevant. If he brings his best, that is going to be a victory in and of itself. But what say you? Can Hadi take out Samson at the Arnold Classic? And if so would he then be in line to be the second man in 60 years to win back the Olympia? Or do you think that whatever happens in Columbus won’t have any impact on what will happen in Las Vegas later in 2025?