It all went down at the historic Freedom Park in the heart of the city of Lagos last Saturday 8 November 2025, where ‘Season 13’ of the annual Mr. Flex Nigeria bodybuilding championship took place, and as the third major event on the national bodybuilding calendar, it delivered as much excitement as the previous events held in early and mid-October. As always, there was a healthy turnout of athletes from across the nation; from Lagos to Lafia, Calabar to Katsina they came; with many new debutants as well as a sprinkling of old faces, including the defending champ from 2024, Abu Umar Sadiq, being amongst the most high-profile. With such a large turnout and variety of new faces, there was always bound to be one surprise or the other. The biggest of all came with the upset of the defending champion by Rilwan Saka, a hitherto relatively unknown athlete on the competitive scene; with his towering figure and large frame, he not only dominated the heavyweight category, pushing the defending champ down into a disappointing 2nd runner-up category finish, but also went on to win the overall comparison, securing the crown and title of Mr Flex Nigeria for the year 2025. Other first-time winners included Moses Maduakowam who took the Men’s Physique title, as well as Donatus Teryange Tsea, who came out tops in the lightweight category. Below is a breakdown of the top three finishers in each category:
Introduction – Ms. Flex Nigeria Glamour
Position Athlete
1 Victory Okeke
Men’s Physique
Position Athlete
1 Moses Maduakowam
2 Hammed Badmus
3 Abdullateef Onileju
Classic Bodybuilding
Position Athlete
1 Samuel Agobi
2 Alfred Sogomote
3 Olusegun Quadri
Open bodybuilding – Lightweight category
Position Athlete
1 Donatus Teryange Tsea
2 Yusuf Oriyomi
3 Dominic Sam
Open bodybuilding – Middleweight category
Position Athlete
1 Theophilus Ugwu
2 Reshammah Thani
3 Wasiu Alabi
Open bodybuilding – Heavyweight category
Position Athlete
1 Rilwan Saka
2 David Ihuoma Ejiofor
3 Abubakar Umar Sadiq
Overall comparison
Position Athlete
1 Rilwan Saka 👑
2 David Ihuoma Ejiofor
3 Donatus Teryange Tsea
Overall, despite a few controversies here and there as regards varying opinion on the results – which is a quite common occurrence for a sport judged as subjectively as bodybuilding, the show can be said to have been a success, when taking into consideration the continuing growth of the game in the country. With the conclusion of Saturday’s event, the 2025 competitive season in the country has come to an end, with all stakeholders in the game heading into stock taking and 'lessons learned' mode, and we all look forward to an even more exciting 2026 season! Congratulations to every single athlete who partook at the event!
The NBD
