The 2023 Arnold Classic wrapped up this past weekend with Samson Dauda emerging triumphant in Columbus, Ohio. In a recent The Muscle Maturity Podcast episode, former Mr. Olympia Samir Bannout took issue with the result as he shared his breakdown of the event.
The 35th edition of the Arnold Classic, widely regarded as the second-most prestigious show in bodybuilding, kicked off the season for many IFBB Pro League athletes. Legendary bodybuilder Arnold Schwarzenegger and the other organizers of the event raised the stakes by bumping the prize money of the Men’s Open division to a record $300,000.
Former champion Nick Walker entered the show as the highest-ranked Olympian and the betting favorite to win his second title. Former two-time Mr. Olympia Mamdouh ‘Big Ramy’ Elssbiay also decided to make a quick turnaround after a disappointing showing at the latest Olympia three months ago. Reigning two-time 212 Olympia winner Shaun Clarida looked to leave his mark in a category full of mass monsters.
Coming off a sixth-place finish at the Olympia, Samson Dauda received major backing going into the contest. He was touted to be the dark horse of the division with veterans like Samir Bannout predicting he’d pull off an upset. Rising sensation Andrew Jacked was another contender with immense potential. Bodybuilding icon Jay Cutler, a four-time Sandow trophy winner, believed Jacked would handily dispatch the competition if he came in his best form.
In the end, Samson Dauda rose to the occasion and came out on top of the Men’s Open class at the 2023 Arnold Classic. He presented the most refined blend of muscle mass, shape, and overall balance. Walker finished runner-up and won the Franco Columbu Most Muscular Award whereas Jacked placed third and earned the honors of the Ed Corney Best Poser Award.
Following the result, Walker issued a statement on his impressive performance and assured a strong comeback. Jacked seemed content with his showing as well. He expressed his excitement at the progress he made in four weeks and planned to take some time off before getting back in action.
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Samir Bannout puzzled by Samson Dauda’s perfect score at the 2023 Arnold Classic
In a recent YouTube video, Samir Bannout shared his thoughts on Dauda’s victory at the 2023 Arnold Classic. He expressed his confusion about Dauda achieving a perfect score despite seemingly fading away after the prejudging.
“Is Samson fantastic? Yes, he is but personally, I still have Nick Walker as the best-conditioned guy on that stage,” said Bannout. “I wasn’t really impressed with Samson’s quality. I’m impressed with his body and I think he’d probably be the man to beat at the Olympia if he adds up 10 percent more quality. I was impressed with Andrew. He had better quality and a beautiful physique.
“Samson, congrats to him! I love his body but there’s no clarity in his back. It was completely hazy. Maybe he looked flat and faded away after prejudging.”
Bannout believes Dauda still has some ways to go before being able to hold his own against Walker in the muscle quality department.
“If it’s based on quality alone, Nick would easily win the show. But the judges right now are paying more attention to overall balance and Samson had that. I like Andrew, his overall body, he was also cut enough. Samson wasn’t ripped enough.”
“How did Samson get a perfect score if he looked worse in round three? I don’t understand that.”
‘Something happened’ with Big Ramy, says Bannout
Bannout gave his breakdown of Big Ramy’s performance at the 2023 Arnold Classic. He suggested Ramy’s humongous legs cost him points as they disrupted the symmetry of his physique. Further, he speculated about the possibility of an issue going on with Ramy’s arms due to a perceived lack of size.
“If Ramy has smaller legs he’ll do better. His legs are really massive.”
“Whatever he did is not so bad. I don’t consider that cheating anyway. I thought he repaired it. It is okay now. Excessive mass in certain areas will hurt you. It won’t help you. Whatever he did surgically to fix the problem he had something happened to his upper thighs. I don’t consider that cheating but that ended up really throwing the body off a little bit.”
“There’s something about his right tricep, maybe he has a tear or something. He lost considerable amount of size in his arm but I was impressed with his quality. Something happened.”
“I don’t know what happened. There’s some consequences to coaching, whatever they do trying to enhance that last minute fullness. Ramy looked good but he’s hurting a bit in the arm development, the right arm.”
“Ramy was complaining about something too that he was told by some official that he needed to surpass what he had done in the past. This is bullsh*t. He looked good. You have to judge him accordingly on how he looks that day. Quality wise he was ready but there’s some atrophy going on still.”
Coach Milos Sarcev is confident ‘The Nigerian Lion’ has what it takes to topple the two most elite contenders; reigning Mr. Olympia Hadi Choopan and runner-up Derek Lunsford. He stressed the natural progression of Dauda will elevate him ahead of the others.
Bodybuilding veteran Zack Khan recently chimed in on the results of the 2023 Arnold Classic. He did not support the judging of the event and believes Jacked should exchange placings with Walker.
You can watch the full video below.
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