The 62nd annual Mr. Olympia contest is almost here, and athletes are approaching the final stages of preparation. In a September 16 video, Lee Priest shared the key adjustments Samson Dauda can make to reclaim the Sandow trophy.
Dauda captured Olympia gold in 2024, thanks to his balance of fullness and detail. While he focused on bringing better conditioning in 2025, the strategy backfired in Las Vegas. Dauda looked downsized, especially his legs and back. As a result, judges awarded him a fourth-place finish.
He tried to rebound at the 2025 Prague Pro against Martin Fitzwater but fell short. Promising to bring back his 350-pound physique, Dauda returned at the 2026 Europa Pro with arguably the tightest package of his career. Looking ahead, Priest believes Dauda’s chances at Olympia depend on how he manipulates his water and food.
Lee Priest on What Samson Dauda Needs to Change to Win 2026 Mr. Olympia
In the video, Priest explained that Dauda has to eat to stay full and balance his water intake to peak properly.
“Look at Samson here; he’s got no body fat. You can see the added size. All it’s going to come down to is water. Finding that balance between having enough water in the body and eating to stay full, not taking too much out, where he comes in more ripped, but he’s flat. If he can find that fine line of getting rid of that water, but staying full and just a little drier, he can win the Olympia.”
He believes Dauda still has time to improve his muscle hardness before stepping onstage:
“People going, ‘ Oh, he’s not hard enough now. ‘ Well, it’s not the fucking Olympia now. It’s the day of the show. We’ve seen a lot happen in one week. A lot can happen in three days.”
“He’s not going to fucking look like that on the day of the Olympia, dick ant, so shut up,” said Lee Priest.
Despite Dauda’s recent momentum swing, Priest warned that Andrew Jacked could end up spoiling the Olympia for everyone.
“The talk is between these two mainly. I’ve seen Andrew’s face, and he’s got the Skeletor face happening. We know he’s going to look pretty cool with Chris and that. I’d love for the talk to be Samson, Derek, Samson, Derek, Andrew stands in the middle, and everyone goes holy fuck. That would just shut them both up.”
Though Priest was impressed with Dauda’s Europa Pro performance, Olympia MC Bob Cicherillo voiced a different outlook. He argued that if Dauda brought this package to the Olympia, he wouldn’t even place in the top three. According to Cicherillo, “The Nigerian Lion” isn’t behind or ahead at this point in prep:
“Is he behind? Absolutely not. He’s also not ahead. He needs about two weeks, give or take, to be able to dial that down. He needs to bring it down a little bit.”
Peaking a physique over 300 pounds is no easy feat. Priest believes that with the right amount of water and food, Dauda can present his best and leave Sin City victorious. The 2026 Mr. Olympia is set for September 24-27.
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