Is Samson Dauda behind or ahead of 2026 Mr. Olympia preparations? According to Bob Cicherillo, it’s neither. In a September 13 video, he gave his thoughts on Dauda’s recent Europa Pro victory. He emphasized that if he brings that same level of conditioning to the Mr. Olympia, Dauda wouldn’t crack the top three.
Having claimed the Sandow trophy in 2024, fans thought Samson Dauda was on his way to becoming the next long-standing Olympia champion. However, he chased sharper conditioning a year later, and it came with a high cost. Dauda appeared undersized onstage, and his side and rear poses fell short against the new champion, Derek Lunsford.
He pushed on at the Prague Pro, but still hadn’t regained the size he lost while shredding down for the Olympia. Dauda ultimately claimed second place against Martin Fitzwater. Vowing to bring the monster back, Dauda lived up to his words and dominated the 2026 Europa Pro. Now looking ahead, Cicherillo questions if his current shape would hold up against the best in the world.
Bob Cicherillo Casts Doubt on Samson Dauda Ahead of 2026 Mr. Olympia
In the video, Cicherillo said Dauda’s level of conditioning at the Europa Pro wouldn’t even earn him a top three spot at the Olympia.
“I was impressed because Samson is overwhelming; he’s huge, he looks like a Mr. Olympia, and he brought what he probably needed to bring, but is he where he needs to be? This conditioning that he displayed today is not going to place in the top three at the Olympia. I think he knows that.”
Cicherillo added that Dauda isn’t behind or ahead, but urged him to improve his conditioning:
“I think he just went in, tried to recapture the magic of two years ago when he did similar with France leading up to the Olympia, and I think that was a great move. Did he capture that magic again? We’re going to see in a few weeks but he needs to do some homework. He looks about two weeks out in my opinion, for what we really need to see from Samson to be a contender to get that title back.”
“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.”
Looking ahead, he believes this is the point in which prep becomes more challenging for Dauda because peaking a 300-pound body is no easy feat.
“This is where it gets a little difficult, I think, for him. Landing that plane into that runway real smooth for the Olympia… he said in the past he thought he had to be 300 or over to have enough size to bring his version of 100 percent onstage. I’m not so sure that’s going to happen, nor should it happen,” said Bob Cicherillo.
All year long, Dauda’s heard the bodybuilding community ask for more conditioning. He intends to follow through when he makes his way to Vegas. The Men’s Open star argued that with enough fullness and crazy conditioning, he can win back the Olympia crown.
After knocking out a test run, Dauda gained valuable data to use for his Olympia prep. The 2026 Mr. Olympia will take place from September 24-27 in Las Vegas, Nevada. Fitness Volt will have live coverage.
RELATED: Sergio Oliva Jr. Predicts Samson Dauda Will Win 2026 Mr. Olympia
