The 2025 Mr. Olympia is just a few months away and voices of the sport are laying out their expectations. In a recent YouTube video, shared on June 22, 2025, Chris Aceto discussed the odds of Mr. Olympia increasing the Men’s Open purse to $1 million and the size of Samson Dauda heading into his title defense.
The 2024 Mr. Olympia contest completely reshuffled the Men’s Open class. Former champions Derek Lunsford and Hadi Choopan were unable to regain their titles, and thanks to the perfect peak, this paved the way for Samson Dauda to emerge victorious.
With the calendar’s most prestigious event approaching, Aceto is curious if Mr. Olympia will make a play to reassert itself as the clear number one bodybuilding show in the world. This comes after the 2026 Arnold Classic confirmed it will offer $750,000 to its next Open champion.
Chris Aceto Says Mr. Olympia ‘Contemplating’ $1 Million Purse, Discusses if Samson Dauda Has Gotten Too Heavy
In the YouTube video, Aceto was impressed with Dauda’s size, especially his arms. He believes getting shredded for contests differs from athlete to athlete, unsure if Dauda can continue to improve that aspect of his game.
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“He looks big there—big arms. First thing I noticed was the arms, second thing was his chest,” shared Aceto. “Some of the fattest bodies get peeled out of their minds, and some of the people who don’t get fat, struggle to get really hard.”
“He’s had to go up at the Arnold against the all-time hardest and best Derek has ever been. Then, he lost the Arnold the year before to the all-time hardest Hadi. If those guys were not in the show, we’d say this is his all-time best condition and winner.”
Chris Aceto believes the two limiting factors holding Olympia back from bigger paydays are hosting it in a smaller venue and the sheer number of competitors who qualify for the event.
“The outgoing cost to run the Olympia is like a weight that keeps it from having the announcement we’re doing one million,” shared Aceto. “The two limiting factors on the one million Jake wants to give is that the theatre is limiting because it can only hold so many. I think that’s a mistake to have it in a smaller theatre. I think if they had it at the Orleans and sold 10,000 tickets, 10,000 people would come even though the seats aren’t as good.”
“The outlay, of course, is the astronomical number of people who qualify for this show, which is very, very different than Dubai,” he shared.
Aceto posits that if the Mr. Olympia was sold somewhere else, the new owners would likely boost the prize money.
“If Jake was not doing the show, I’d guarantee you somebody would step up and buy that show and take that show and be forced to increase the prize money because his competitor, Arnold, even though he only has 10 people in the show, 10, 10, and 10, 30 total people, they will step up and they will have to offer prize money that’s better than the Arnold.
That’s why I said they’re contemplating, I’m sure $1 million has been bantered around, can they do it? I don’t know because I don’t know their numbers.”
He emphasized that if the Mr. Olympia doesn’t raise the prize money, it’s no longer the most prestigious show of the year.
“If they don’t match the Arnold prize money, then it is not the most prestigious show of the year. The most prestigious show and the athletes will show you that they will go by voting.”
A potential prize money increase for the Mr. Olympia has been teased. Olympia President Dan Solomon not only confirmed the date and location for Olympia, but said the event is set to award the largest prize money ‘by far’ this October.
Fans are curious if the Mr. Olympia will follow suit like last year and raise the Open purse once again. The 2025 Mr. Olympia event takes place from October 9-12 in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Watch the full video from the Rx Muscle – Truth in Bodybuilding YouTube channel below:
Catch comprehensive coverage of the 2025 Arnold Classic, including pre-judging, event recaps, analyses, and complete Arnold Classic results at our Arnold Classic coverage hub: FitnessVolt.com/arnold-classic
