Bodybuilding legends' trust in Andrew Jacked is at an all-time high before the 2026 Arnold Classic.

That all began at the 2025 Mr. Olympia, where all the focus was on Samson Dauda, Hadi Choopan, Nick Walker, and Derek Lunsford. However, Andrew surprised everyone with his all-time-best physique and earned 3rd place.

Since then, bodybuilding veterans have been keeping an eye on the Nigerian giant, and recently, one of them, Dennis James, has suggested a formula that could help Jacked win the Arnold Classic 2026.

In episode 271 of The Menace Podcast, Dennis James said, “I still believe he’s gonna win,” and all the analysts expressed their opinion that they think Andrew jacked has the potential to win.

However, they also know that Arnold's classic lineup is very strong with participants like Nick Walker and Martin Fitzwater. According to James, Jacked needs to address some weaknesses.

After seeing a recent photo of Jacked's progress, James admitted that while the 2025 Romania Pro winner’s upper body is in perfect shape, his glutes and hamstrings still need some work. He said, “The hamstrings and the glutes look like, way behind”.

Even on December 1, 2025, Jay Cutler said, “If I was a b****** man, I’d probably favor Andrew to come in and win the Arnold and Olympia in 2026, just because of his momentum right now”.

Coming back to Dennis James, who said, “We’re still five weeks out…. So, he has to bring the conditioning that he had at the Olympia, right?”

According to him, it would be a shame to leave the weaknesses unaddressed. And, if Jacked can work on those parts, then he could win $750,000 in Columbus, Ohio.

Apart from Dennis James, coach Chris Aceto also touched on Jacked’s progress.

Chris Aceto on Andrew Jacked

On February 2, 2026, on Rx Muscle: Truth in Bodybuilding, Chris Aceto discussed filling out Andrew Jacked's tall frame.

He said, “He still needs to fill that frame out. On someone who is 6’2″, you can’t fill a frame out in 18 months. It just takes time. I think time, along with having the good fortune to hook up with Kamal, with training him in the gym every day, the last seven weeks of the Olympia”.

Jacket, who is training with Kamal Elgargni, the former 212 Olympia winner, is in a strong position.

Aceto said, “Kamal knows what buttons to push to be able to keep him big when dieting or in this case, he’s been growing. The last two shows he’s added a little bit of muscle running into the show”.

Even after Mr. Olympia, 2025, Kamal Elgargni said about Jacked, “Imagine next year, with a little bit of improvements, with the shape he’s got, the flow, the muscle, the look… I think he’s going to win the Olympia not once, not twice, I think he can do even five”.

So, do you see Andrew Jacked as the next Arnold classic and Mr. Olympia winner? Tell us in the comments!

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Written by

Supradeep Dutta

Edited by

Oajaswini Prabhu