Samir Bannout believes posing and stage presentation are still lacking at the top of the Men’s Open division. In a recent podcast (October 31, 2026), he called out Samson Dauda and Andrew Jacked, taking aim at their poor front relaxed pose. He also said Dauda sometimes looks fat when he’s actually flat onstage.
The 2026 Mr. Olympia was arguably the most shocking event in the sport’s history. Nick Walker was counted out heavily after dropping to sixth the year prior. Jacked had all the momentum in the world. He won the Romania Pro, 2026 Arnold Classic, and Arnold Classic UK contests consecutively. Meanwhile, Dauda was out for redemption in Vegas after losing his first Sandow trophy.
Against the odds, it was “The Mutant” who emerged victorious, thanks to improved posing, stomach control, and rock-hard muscle. With time to reflect on the division’s future, Bannout laid out why presentation might be the single-biggest problem holding Dauda and Jacked back from more success.
Samir Bannout Says Samson Dauda and Andrew Jacked Must Work on Posing & Presentation
During the podcast, Bannout labeled Dauda and Jacked’s posing unprofessional:
“Andrew Jacked and Samson both did that [raised arms high during front relaxed pose], for me, this is unprofessional, even if the rulebook allows it. I think as a professional who loves the game dearly, and I love the art; you have to understand how to be professional. If you’re not professional, you don’t deserve to be Mr. Olympia. You have to be graceful. You have to be shredded.”
He added that when Dauda is flat, he sometimes looks overweight and not in contest shape.
“For some reason, at times, when you look at Samson, some people cannot differentiate between flat and fat. When you’re flat, you appear to look like you are fat, okay? So, the judges don’t care if you’re flat, but you look somewhat fat in certain areas. I know that from experience from competing over and over.”
“Samson, with some minor modifications, could’ve gotten the $600,000.”
Samir Doesn’t See Eye-to-Eye With Lee Haney
As for Haney’s warning about ‘near death’ conditioning, Bannout simply isn’t buying that. He believes competitors can achieve a dry look without dangerous tactics, such as diuretic use.
“I know Lee Haney was talking about conditioning and how dangerous it is, and that the judges should really mellow out. No, no. I disagree with Haney on that. The fact that you need the conditioning, but you don’t need to be stupid, and do the wrong things to hurt yourself because you can get dry as the desert sand without having to do the dangerous stuff, John, come on, we know that.”
“We know the game. The diuretics are still being misused by many of the coaches,” he said. “I don’t need to name some of them, but it’s been used the wrong way,” he said.
Having watched the new era of bodybuilders come into its own, Bannout believes the sport needs to return to its posing roots. With athletes neck-and-neck today, he believes stage presentation is often what ends up deciding who wins a given show.
RELATED: Samir Bannout Reveals His 3 ‘Golden Era Rules’ for Growing a Mr. Olympia Back
Watch the full video from the Old School Labs YouTube channel below:
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