{"id":23155,"date":"2026-06-24T00:33:46","date_gmt":"2026-06-24T00:33:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/worldbodybuildingnews.com\/?p=23155"},"modified":"2026-06-24T00:33:46","modified_gmt":"2026-06-24T00:33:46","slug":"king-kamali-chris-cormier-says-nick-walker-lightyears-ahead-of-tampa-pro-lineup-criticizes-samson-daudas-ab-thigh-pose-fitness-volt","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/worldbodybuildingnews.com\/?p=23155","title":{"rendered":"King Kamali, Chris Cormier Says Nick Walker ‘Lightyears Ahead’ of Tampa Pro Lineup, Criticizes Samson Dauda’s Ab & Thigh Pose \u2013 Fitness Volt"},"content":{"rendered":"


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Shahriar Kamali, better known as King Kamali, is giving his take on the current Men\u2019s Open landscape. In a YouTube video from June 23, 2026, Kamali criticized Samson Dauda\u2019s ab and thigh pose, and Chris Cormier previewed the Nick Walker-Jo Palacios showdown at the upcoming Tampa Pro.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

Anticipation for the 2026 Mr. Olympia<\/a> continues to build, especially after last year\u2019s outcome. Samson Dauda was pushed off the throne and hurled into fourth place. His pursuit of sharper conditioning backfired, while Derek Lunsford<\/a> nailed his peak. As a result, he established himself as a two-time Mr. Olympia champion.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Dauda attempted to rebound at the Prague Pro<\/a> but hadn\u2019t regained the size he lost. He settled for a second-place finish and shut down his season to focus on improvements. Walker also missed the mark at the Olympia and dropped to sixth place. With both contenders eager for bounce-back performances, Kamali and Cormier opened up about their futures.\u00a0<\/p>\n

King Kamali, Chris Cormier, Talk Samson Dauda\u2019s Weak Pose, and Nick Walker\u2019s Tampa Chances\u00a0<\/h2>\n

In the video, Kamali emphasized that Dauda\u2019s abs and thigh pose is one of his weakest. He added that his most muscular could use some refinement as well.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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\u201cRight now, it\u2019s become a game of who is the biggest and freakiest. That\u2019s what it\u2019s come down to. My problem with Samson has never been size. My problem is his abs thigh shot sucks.<\/p>\n

Did you work on that this year? When he does his most muscular shot, he looks this much more narrow than Hadi. Why? Because he\u2019s not hitting it right. He\u2019s not getting his delts out. These are the little things you have to work on as a professional bodybuilder.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

As for the Tampa Pro, Cormier argued that Walker is \u2018lightyears ahead\u2019 of the lineup, courtesy of his density and muscle hardness.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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\u201cI don\u2019t think he has a whole lot of room to clap back at someone like Nick. Nick has won the Arnold Classic, been third in the Olympia, won multiple shows, multiple New York Pros, three of\u00a0 them, so it\u2019s not really for him to say at this point, just that he\u2019s ready to show what he can show and see how everything unfolds on the stage.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cNick should be confident because Nick is the athletic one here. He\u2019s got the density and lightyears ahead with the hardness and density at this point with anybody I see there. He should be very confident.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Kamali believes Jo Palacios needs time before giving Walker a true test onstage:\u00a0<\/p>\n

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\u201cIs he ready for Nick? I don\u2019t think so, but he will be one day,\u201d said<\/a> Kamali.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

While the Mr. Olympia is still several weeks away, that hasn\u2019t stopped Kamali from revealing his predictions. He and former 212 Olympia Kamal Elgargni recently backed Dauda and Jacked to secure the top two positions<\/a> at the Mr. Olympia.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Time will tell if Walker can shake up the Olympia lineup with a dominant performance in Tampa. The 2026 Mr. Olympia is scheduled for September 24-27 in Las Vegas, Nevada.\u00a0<\/p>\n

RELATED:<\/strong>\u00a0King Kamali Says \u2018Super Frustrated\u2019 Derek Lunsford Doesn\u2019t Get Respect as Mr. Olympia: \u2018Nobody Has Him Winning Again\u2019<\/a><\/p>\n

Watch the full video from the Iron OGs YouTube channel below:\u00a0<\/em><\/strong><\/h4>\n