Dennis James was joined by Milos “The Mind” Sarcev and multi-time Mr Olympia winning coach, Abdullah Alotaibi for Episode 228 of The Menace Podcast and the conversation soon turned to Hadi Choopan, and what he should look to improve if he is to make a successful comeback in 2025.
Hadi Choopan won his first Mr Olympia title in 2022 at 35 years of age, but was knocked down to second place by Derek Lunsford in 2023, and then Samson Dauda in 2024. Now, having taken a year off, The Menace Panel speculated about what might sharpen the “Persian Wolf’s” teeth once again. According to Sarcev, one thing that has always worked in the Iranian’s favor is his conditioning, so he’ll need to keep that consistent. (source: this conversation begins 1:04:20)
“Nobody comes close to Hadi Choopan,” said Sarcev. “You cannot compare Derek (Lunsford’s) condition with Hadi’s condition. From the front, (it’s) not even close.” The panel agreed however, that where Choopan does need to improve on, is putting on some overall size to compete with the other giants on stage such as Lunsford and Dauda. “If you dig deep and analyze from the front, everything was happening,” continued Sarcev. Still, Coach Abdullah noted that Derek’s condition from the back was better, and Sarcev agreed.
Can Hadi Choopan Beat Derek Lunsford at the 2025 Mr. Olympia?
“So, I think that Hadi left a whole year to work on that. He just needs to put on more size,” concluded Sarcev. “Hadi’s that guy who has everything, and his condition is just shining through. I don’t think that his conditioning was bad at the last Olympia, and everybody said, ‘oh, his condition was not that same Hadi condition.’ I think it was 95% of his normal conditioning. I really do.”
Looking to get some commitment from his crew, Dennis James asked the guests who would win at their best in this year’s Olympia. “Could this Derek beat Hadi’s best?” asked The Menace. “I don’t think so,” said Sarcev. “Yes,” answered Coach Abdullah. “I like that you guys don’t agree,” concluded the host. “So… What’s gonna change?” asked James. “He needs to bring (those) crazy back striations, and hamstrings glutes… tie in. And I’m sure that this is whole purpose, this whole year, to work on that,” offered Sarcev. Still, despite “The Mind’s” faith in Choopan, Coach Abdullah was willing to put his own money on another Lunsford victory at the 2025 Olympia. So, who you got?
To watch the whole episode, also covering subjects like Andrew Jacked’s current progress, and who has the best physique between Victor Martinez and Phil Heath, see below.
