Samir Bannout Calls Samson Dauda ‘The Man to Win’ 2026 Mr. Olympia
Samson Dauda’s final tune-up before the 2026 Mr. Olympia has sparked plenty of debate, but former Mr. Olympia Samir Bannout believes the former champion may already be the man to beat. After watching Dauda win the 2026 Europa Pro, Bannout picked “The Nigerian Lion” to potentially reclaim the Sandow while outlining the final adjustments that could put him over the top in Las Vegas.
Dauda won the Men’s Open title at the Europa Pro in Offenbach, Germany, on Sept. 13, giving him a chance to test his physique under competition lights less than two weeks before the Olympia. The appearance was particularly important after Dauda’s pursuit of improved conditioning contributed to him looking smaller and flatter during his fourth-place finish at the 2025 Olympia.
This time around, Bannout believes Dauda has successfully brought back the size and shape that made him the 2024 Mr. Olympia. Now, he wants to see just a little more detail.
Samir Bannout Says Samson Dauda Needs to Get Harder
Bannout, who captured the Mr. Olympia title in 1983, praised what he saw from Dauda in Germany but identified conditioning through the upper body as one area that could still improve.
“I feel Samson could actually get a little bit harder. Maybe it’s a good idea for him to check his peak. Right now, he can make some adjustments to have a little bit thinner skin.”
Bannout specifically pointed toward Dauda’s shoulders, delts, traps and back. He stressed that these were refinements to an already impressive package rather than major changes.
“It was a very, very good showing, looking the way he looked. From my perspective, he would need to be a little sharper in the upper shoulder area, deltoids, and the back, from the trapezius, but his midsection is beautiful. His legs are beautiful.”
One thing Bannout does not want Dauda to sacrifice is his trademark combination of size and aesthetics. Dauda has pushed his body weight beyond 300 pounds during his preparations while maintaining the small waist and flowing proportions that have separated him from many of his mass-monster rivals.
Bannout was particularly impressed that Dauda could carry that much size without losing his midsection.
“When you weigh over 300 pounds, and you got that small waist, that tells us something.”
He even compared that advantage to reigning Olympia champion Derek Lunsford, suggesting Lunsford’s rib cage can protrude during certain poses and potentially hurt the overall appearance of his front double biceps.
Bannout: ‘I Think He’s the Man to Win’
Most importantly, Bannout does not believe Dauda needs to spend the remaining days aggressively chasing additional fat loss.
Instead, the former champion wants him to concentrate on fine-tuning his peak, finding the right balance between fullness, dryness and conditioning without sacrificing the enormous, aesthetic look that helped him win the Olympia two years ago.
“It’s not about fat burning. I think right now, if you can fine-tune whether you can be fuller or a little bit drier, those kinds of things.”
Bannout believes the version of Dauda seen in Germany was already significantly improved from the physique he brought to the 2025 Olympia.
“I believe he’s much better than he was last Olympia, by far better. Samson makes a living on his mass and beauty.”
And with only minor adjustments remaining, Bannout gave Dauda perhaps his biggest endorsement yet.
“I think he’s the man to win, but let’s see Derek, let’s see Andrew Jacked, that’s where it’s going to be sticky.”
Bannout acknowledged that reclaiming the title will not be easy, calling the upcoming Olympia anything but “a walk in the park.”
His assessment also stands in sharp contrast to Olympia commentator Bob Cicherillo’s reaction to the Europa Pro. Cicherillo argued that Dauda’s Germany package was actually inferior to the physique he displayed while winning the 2024 Olympia and warned that the same level of conditioning might not be enough to crack the top three in Las Vegas.
That disagreement only adds intrigue to Dauda’s Europa experiment. He now has direct feedback from the judges, former champions and analysts while still having several days to make adjustments before stepping onto bodybuilding’s biggest stage.
The 2026 Mr. Olympia is scheduled for Sept. 24-27 in Las Vegas, Nevada. Dauda will attempt to regain the title he won in 2024 against a loaded Men’s Open field headlined by Lunsford and Andrew Jacked.
Image embed via Instagram @samson__dauda
