Phil Heath gives Derek Lunsford a friendly but serious reminder after his heated exchange with Andrew Jacked.

On May 21, BTS TV shared an Instagram post in which two-time Mr. Olympia Lunsford was seen giving challenger Jacked a stern warning, stating that Jacked will never win the Olympia, ahead of their clash on the Olympia stage.

And when the news reached seven-time Olympia champion Heath, he decided to give Lunsford a reality check.

"The biggest thing when you say something, you have to back it up," Heath said. "For Derek, if he's saying to Andrew, like, you'll never win, that means never, he's going to have to put in the work."

According to the veteran bodybuilder, Lunsford's challenge extends beyond the athletes themselves. If Jacked eventually proves Lunsford's prediction wrong, it could dramatically reshape the narrative. He further dismissed direct comparisons to his own career.

"As far as being compared to me, he's not compared to me," he stated. "He's compared to himself."

Heath's comments came during his press conference at the Rimini Wellness Experience Show, where he represented the equipment brand, Panatta. They were in response to the heated exchange Lunsford and the 2026 Arnold Classic winner, Jacked, had at the Olympia Battle, where the reigning champion gave Jacked a direct threat.

“You are 41, I’ll tell you this, I’ve been in this far too long and now a father of two," said Lunsford. "To ever let somebody come in and take the title away from me. This is my title. I worked for it for more than a decade, and nobody’s taking it from me.”

And upon hearing the threat, Jacked wasn't the one to keep calm, and he responded with, “You may be 5-0, but there will be a flip on the script this time around. Definitely. It will stop at 5-0.”

Standing 5-foot-6 and carrying more than 230 pounds of sculpted muscle, Lunsford's rigorous training and disciplined nutrition helped him reclaim the Mr. Olympia title ahead of Hadi Choopan and Samson Dauda.

Last season, the duo faced off in two of the most thrilling bodybuilding showdowns of 2025, the 2025 Arnold Classic in March and the 2025 Mr. Olympia in October.

Meanwhile, this wasn't the first time the bodybuilding icon backed Jacked.

Phil Heath Thinks Andrew Jacked Has a Good Chance of Winning the Olympia Title

During his appearance on Jay Cutler's Cutler Cast on April 1, Heath showed his support for the Nigerian bodybuilder by stating that he has a good shot of winning this year.

“His confidence has to be at an all-time high," Heath said. "He has to know that he is the guy that people are going to be talking about."

According to the seven-time Mr. Olympia winner, size and height will be the deciding factors in choosing this year's winner. All Jacked needs to do is pull down a few pounds and work on his glutes and hamstrings.

"I mentioned to him last night, you’re the biggest dude, you’re tall, you got the tools, man," he continued. "Now, Samson [Dauda] is the only guy who has that height and some size as well, but then everybody else is short. They are very short compared to those two.”

Jacked will be facing off against Lunsford, who completed his long-awaited "Triple Crown," capturing the Arnold Classic, Pittsburgh Pro, and Mr. Olympia titles in succession.

Will Jacked be able to defeat him? Share your thoughts.

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Written by

Ruwa Javed

Edited by

Soheli Tarafdar