Eight-time Mr. Olympia winner Lee Haney shares his concerns about Samson Dauda’s current form. According to the legendary bodybuilder, Dauda’s extreme recruitment phase may be a huge mistake that will ruin his chances of winning this year’s Olympia.
In 2024, Samson Dauda made history when he defeated both Hadi Choopan and Derek Lunsford on the podium to win the coveted Sandow statue. However, his efforts to bring a sharper and more chiseled form a year later backfired. By 2025 he had lost his proverbial fullness of muscle, his back gave a narrower impression and he eventually had to settle for fourth place. He subsequently failed to win the EVLS Prague Pro, where he was beaten by Martin Fitzwater.
Extreme volume as a solution?
To reverse this decline, Dauda decided to take a radical step in his current out-of-competition preparation – to put on as much muscle mass as possible. His weight has climbed over a whopping 158 kilograms (350 pounds). This approach has already raised doubts among several bodybuilding icons, including Shawn Ray, and now Lee Haney has joined them in a very vocal way.
In a recent interview with YouTube channel Muscle Discord, Haney questioned Daud’s decision to put on so much weight, especially considering his age. After all, Samson is approaching 40.
The body works differently after 40
“When you put on that amount of mass, you have to logically question: Will it fit? Can I cut top form out of this?” warns Haney. “The body works differently as you get older. Your growth hormone and testosterone levels change, and you have to take that into account.”
Haney reminisced about his own era when volume athletes never gained such extreme amounts of fat and water. In his words, they gained a maximum of 5 to 7 kilograms (12-15 pounds) in the off-season and gradually “built up” their form for competitions rather than drastically losing it.
A mold killer called cortisol
The biggest concern for the eight-time champion, however, is the weight loss process. Losing such a huge amount of weight in just 15 weeks, he says, puts an extreme strain on the body.
“It doesn’t bode well. It looks like he’s absolutely overloading his body,” Haneyassessed Daud’s current size. “I’d prefer if he entered training smoothly, without his body producing cortisol and other stress hormones due to the overabundance of cardio and starvation. Because that’s exactly what will happen – either endless cardio or starvation. You just can’t come on stage in your sharpest form in that state.”
Unique genetics as salvation?
Despite the harsh criticism of his chosen approach, Haney acknowledges that Samson Dauda is among the genetic anomalies. He even compared him to the greatest icons in the history of the sport.
“Once in a while, Mother Nature creates an absolutely perfect character. Arnold was one of them, me, Jay Cutler, Phil Heath, Ronnie Coleman or Chris Bumstead. There are just people who are born with something that can’t be replicated,” Haneysaid , adding, ” Samson is the closest to that today.”
Haney also noted that he prefers Dauda’s physique to the one possessed by Andrew Jacked, as he believes Dauda has more beautiful lines and fewer weaknesses. Haney recently advised both of these giants (with inspiration from Arnold Schwarzenegger) to stand confident, upright and “pose big” at this year’s Olympics against shorter athletes like Derek Lunsford.
Whether Samson Daud will succeed in disproving the doubts of the legends and his risky volume bet will pay off, we will soon find out. The prestigious Mr. Olympia 2026 will take place from September 24-27 in Las Vegas.
“They SCREWED Up The Whole System” – Lee Haney SLAMS Bodybuilding Judges
No posts have been made yet.
