Preparations for the upcoming 2023 Mr. Olympia are heating up as the show takes place this November. In a recent The Menace Podcast, Milos Sarcev laid out the strengths and weaknesses of Nick Walker and Samson Dauda three months before their showdown in Florida.
Regularly weighing over 300 pounds, Dauda’s combination of stature, conditioning, and mass turned him into a formidable contender in the IFBB Pro League. Over the past year, Samson Dauda has flourished as a rising Men’s Open Pro, having finished fourth at the 2022 Arnold Classic and Boston Pro.
At his first Mr. Olympia competition last December, Dauda blew away expectations and even pushed the former two-time champion Mamdouh ‘Big Ramy’ Elssbiay during the prejudging rounds. Dauda finished sixth in the end but has only grown more confident since that night.
When it was time to perform on the 2023 Arnold Classic stage, Dauda brought his best against a motivated Nick Walker. The judges ultimately favored Dauda’s look even though some in the community have been reluctant to accept the results. With the biggest show of the year on the horizon, Milos Sarcev took a closer look at these two frontrunners.
Milos Sarcev Says Nick Walker ‘Has to Play for Size’ at 2023 Mr. Olympia, Talks Samson Dauda’s Weakest Pose
Sarcev emphasized that Dauda’s back will be improved by the time he steps on stage. Dauda’s back came under fire recently after Nick Walker called it ‘shit’ in an HD Muscle video. Guy Cisternino added that Dauda has a back but it’s not his strongest body part.
“He [Nick Walker] wishes Samson doesn’t have a back,” said Milos Sarcev.“Samson has a back, it’s just not his best shot. Everybody got up and arms about it, it’s not a big deal everybody. You have to have a weak shot. Everybody does. Samson’s weakest shot is his back double biceps. End of story, it’s no big deal. But he’s still crazy,” said Guy Cisternino.“Just watch Samson… in a few months or a year. I mean, he’s improving rapidly,” said Sarcev. “”Expect the best out of Samson.”
Cisternino believes Dauda and Walker have the ability to beat each other despite the differences in their physiques.
“Samson can beat Nick and Nick can beat Samson. Yeah, 100% absolutely. They both – I’m very like – when it comes to bodybuilding, Milos saw, we talked about it before. When they were both on stage I was cheering on them both because they’re fucking both have phenomenal physiques and very different.And being very different, they have the ability, one can top the other. Based on if one comes at 100 or one comes in at 99. This is a 1% game they’re playing,” said Guy Cisternino.
Sarcev adds that Nick Walker has to ‘play for size’ whereas Samson Dauda can focus on other areas of concern like his shape and back detail.
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“Dennis, I would say yeah Nick needs [more muscle]. Because there’s the thing that he has going for him. He’s not going to out-shape or be more aesthetic and be wider more v-taper, x-frame and everything – there’s no way. He has to play for size,” said Milos Sarcev.“The thing with Samson, we had that Olympia battle, all the serratus, the obliques, all that stuff is crispier right now and we had a weight of 325… that was pretty damn impressive,” added Chris Cormier.
Cisternino and Sarcev agree Dauda’s weakest pose was his back double biceps. Sarcev specified that Dauda is now opening up his back to accentuate the detail of his muscle separation.
“Weakest pose… I’ll agree, it’s maybe back double biceps comparing with the freaks like Nick. Not the worst pose but the least competitive pose among the top five but it’s greatly improving and don’t be surprised,” said Sarcev.“Now for Samson, and I just posted yesterday. Look, two years ago he sent me one of the first check-ins. Yeah, he was quite small and narrow. Initially, we knew we needed to expand the shoulders, the width over the shoulders, which by now, look at him.”You can never look at his physique now and say he’s narrow. His shoulders are there and back is expanding and it’s getting quality. He still doesn’t have that fibrotic Shawn Ray, Flex Wheeler, Ronnie Coleman, Dorian Yates when they would do that pose for lats and you could see the fibers… yeah.So he’s not at that level, but when he hits the back double biceps, especially now, he learned how to open up more. He did and the detail is coming. He’s 330 and we have 15 weeks. You know, we get off completely of supplements and now things are kicking in. The diet is now super strict. He’s hungry and motivated and he knows, listen, you don’t have to be a genius to say he has the potential to win,” said Milos Sarcev.
Has Mr. Olympia Ever Been More Competitive?
Then, Cisternino and Dennis James argued that Mr. Olympia hasn’t been this competitive since the 90s or early 2000s.
“Never [has the Mr. Olympia been this competitive]. The 90s when you guys did it. The early 2000s,” said Guy Cisternino.“Right now, there’s literally five or six guys that can walk away with the Olympia,” stated Dennis James. “Are we in danger man, with Open Bodybuilding, it looks like it’s not getting better. Six guys in Tampa, that’s ridiculous. I guarantee you they will have more competitors in the female categories.”“Do you think people are getting scared?” asks Cisternino. “I had friends that told me they don’t want to compete.”“I understand, but if I don’t want to compete, I wouldn’t take drugs because I would be more scared of using the drugs. So if I don’t want to compete but I’m fucking 320 pounds running around in the gym acting a fool, I’m not helping myself,” Dennis James said.
Fans are excited to see the potential rematch between Samson Dauda and Nick Walker. With the show approaching soon, Walker has kept his followers updated on everything related to his preparations. Walker said there’s a fire lit under him and he’s more motivated than ever to win his first Sandow trophy.
This year’s 2023 Mr. Olympia competition goes down Nov. 2-5 in Orlando, Florida. In light of Dauda’s recent progress, Sarcev refuses to count him out against the reigning champion Hadi Choopan.
Watch the full video from The Menace Podcast below:
RELATED: Milos Sarcev Gives Top 3 2023 Mr. Olympia Predictions w/Jay Cutler, Talks Samson Dauda’s Progress
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