The 2026 Mr. Olympia is just days away, and the roster is stacked. Derek Lunsford enters as the reigning two-time champion, with Andrew Jacked and Samson Dauda building momentum all season. Yet bodybuilding legend Jay Cutler has thrown his support behind a competitor whose season has been anything but smooth. 

That competitor is Nick Walker, fresh off a career-low sixth-place finish at the 2025 Mr. Olympia. He answered with a silver medal at the 2026 Arnold Classic and a win at the Tampa Pro, punching his ticket back to Las Vegas with something to prove. 

Cutler, a four-time Mr. Olympia champion himself, knows a thing or two about defying expectations, and he sees the same fight in Walker. During an appearance on the RxMuscle podcast, Cutler backed Walker for Mr. Olympia 2026. 

"Nick Walker is getting better," Cutler said during the interview. "Let’s be real. I know they said years ago he couldn’t win this Mr. Olympia; I truly think he can be Mr. Olympia, and I think he probably will at some point."

He went even further, revealing a personal conversation he'd had with Walker himself. 

"I told Nick the other day; we were texting a little bit. I told Nick, I said, they said I was never going to win, Nick. He goes, look at you now. I go, yes, but I go, you need to go in with the mindset that you are winning this. He told me he’s winning it, no question."

For Cutler, Walker's belief isn't just talk. It mirrors the same doubt-to-domination arc that defined his own career, and if his instincts are right, the 2026 Mr. Olympia could be remembered as the night Walker finally silenced his critics for good.

However, Jay Cutler’s praise for Nick Walker isn't something new. 

Jay Cutler’s faith in Nick Walker goes way beyond what you think 

Cutler has been tracking Walker's rise for years now. Back in 2021, after Walker's breakout run through the New York Pro and Arnold Classic in the same season, Cutler was already predicting big things heading into that year's Olympia. 

Back in 2021, while talking to Generation Iron, Cutler opened up about his faith in Walker. 

“He’s taking the steps, dude," Cutler told Generation Iron at the time. " He’s won New York, the same year Arnold Classic, and he’s going to go to the Olympia, and he’s probably going to be in the top five. I mean, not many guys have been able to do that.”  

What stood out to Cutler wasn't just the results, but the way Walker carried himself. Rather than picking apart his rivals' weaknesses, Walker leaned entirely on his own confidence. 

"What I like about his approach, he doesn't say why he's going to beat so and so, because they're missing this or that. He just says, 'Hey, I'm that good,' which I have no problem. He's got some pretty knockout shots." 

That mindset hasn't changed in the years since, and if anything, Cutler seems even more convinced that Walker's moment is finally arriving. 

Written by

Chionia Libania Colaco