We will be flying into Columbus, Ohio on Friday, March 6 and will be in town until Monday, March 9 to cover the 2026 Arnold Sports Festival, nee Arnold Classic. The huge bodybuilding and sports event is highly anticipated with a deep and talented line-up in the men’s open bodybuilding, as well as all of the other divisions taking the stage, such as classic physique, men’s physique, fitness, bikini, wellness and wheelchair.
The title sponsor of our on-site media coverage will once again be AMMANNOMICS and we would like to thank them for everything they do for mSm.
Here are our top-six predictions for the main event:
1st Place – Chinedu Andrew Obiekea, aka Andrew Jacked
2nd Place – Nick Walker
3rd Place – Hadi Choopan
4th Place – Martin Fitzwater
5th Place – Brandon Curry
6th Place – Akim Williams
We have been predicting a big win for Obiekea for a few years now, including prior Arnold Classic shows and the 2025 Mr. Olympia. He is primed and ready and unless his timing is completely off, he should be standing in the winner’s circle once and for all.
Nick Walker has won this show in the past, but has had some difficulty since then. He looked very sharp a few weeks before the Olympia but seemed to have peaked too early. His recent social media photos show him once again to look to be having a very good prep and he may have learned from the spillover that happened in Las Vegas.
The distractions that Hadi Choopin has had to deal with off the stage have had to have some kind of negative impact, even for a veteran champion like himself. Hopefully he can focus on the show and should be right there in the mix as he always is.
Speaking of distractions, Martin Fitzwater has caused his own problems when he should concentrate on what may indeed be a great career in bodybuilding. He’s only 29 and is on the rise, but he is easily pulled in to things that shouldn’t even be entering his mind. We feel he may learn a hard lesson here and drop a few places.
Brandon Curry is a solid veteran and has won the Arnold and Mr. Olympia in a career that still may have a few chapters left to be written. He will come in strong and have a good showing in Ohio.
Another bodybuilder who has placed well in big shows is Akim Williams, who has tremendous size but sometimes struggles with conditioning. We expect him to have a good weekend and be in the mix for the posedown.
Look for constant updates all weekend long on our social media pages, especially INSTAGRAM – @musclesportmag
