Samir Bannout urges Samson Dauda to work on his posturing and he will be unbeatable.

Samir Bannout advising Samson Daud: The key to defending Mr. Olympia 2025 is posing

With Mr. Olympia 2025 coming up in just a few months, the legendary Samir Bannout takes an in-depth look at the reigning champion. In a YouTube video posted on July 2, 2025, he urged Samson Dauda to work on his posing and conditioning.

Samson Dauda became the 19th athlete to win the prestigious Sandow trophy in 2024. He defeated strong competitors in the Open category, Derek Lunsford and Hadi Choopan, in the battle for the title. While most Mr. Olympia champions take a break after winning until defending their title, Dauda took a different route. He participated in the Arnold Classic 2025, where he fought for a $500,000 cash prize. In the end, he narrowly lost to Lunsford, setting the stage for a thrilling rematch in October. However, if Dauda hopes for another victory, he will have to deal with some very strong competition, and not just Choopan and Lunsford.

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Bannout and Ray on the future of Samson Dauda

Legendary bodybuilders Samir Bannout and Shawn Ray recently shared their thoughts on what could help reigning Mr. Olympia champion Samson Dauda secure another victory. They both agree that the key to success is not just huge muscle mass, but also precise posing and impeccable conditioning.

"We have to ensure that posing is an art and not just some monkey business, seriously," Bannout stressed. "We want to make bodybuilding better. We love the game and we want to do everything we can to make sure the sport is respected by the world."

Shawn Ray weighed in on the discussion, arguing that Dauda is already one of the best posing athletes in the IFBB Pro League. "Samson Dauda is big, symmetrical and can pose. He needs to work on his posing, but he's one of the best posers in Open Bodybuilding right now, although in the 80s and 90s he wouldn't have stood a chance with so many guys who emphasized posing. We don't want to overestimate greatness and move away from beauty and artistry," Ray added.

According to Bannout, Dauda needs to improve his fitness first and foremost. "Samson is massive, he has an incredible shoulder to waist ratio. He's not missing anything. Personally, I like the way his body is put together. What is he missing? I'd like to see Samson chopped to dust. If Samson reaches that quality, it's going to be really hard for anyone to match him."