“It’s so overwhelming” - Samson Dauda on the pressure of facing Big Ramy at 2022 Olympia

Samson Dauda made his Mr. Olympia debut at the 2022 Olympia contest. ‘The Nigerian Lion’ put in an exceptional performance to finish sixth at the event. Just days after, the bodybuilder recalled the experience of competing against former champ Mamdouh ‘Big Ramy’ Elssbiay.

In a recent video, Dauda recapped the experience of making his debut alongside Ramy and the added pressure it brought. Emphasizing the faceoff, the bodybuilder said that he was “overwhelmed.” The dark horse at the 2022 Olympia said that it was “extremely different” seeing the big names behind the stage ahead of the competition.

Explaining his experience at Mr. Olympia, Samson Dauda said:

“Oh man. Honestly, you know, the thing is, people don’t know. When you’re backstage and you’re at a big show and you know all the big names and all the big stars and you see them face to face — it’s so different. People always say, ‘Oh I saw the clips, I saw the pictures.’ Trust me, when they are right in front of you, it’s extremely different. It’s so overwhelming.”

The bodybuilder went on to state that coach Milos Sarcev told him to ‘fight for his place’ at the event. Dauda revealed that he was nervous after finding out that he was positioned next to defending champ Big Ramy at the start of prejudging.

He added:

“When I did the first call-out with Ramy next to me, trust me, I didn’t have a clue how I was looking next to him because you can’t see yourself. I just know that — Milos told me, ‘Look: your number is next to him, don’t back down. Get him. Fight for your place.' It’s overwhelming. You look at the [lineup] and go holy crap, okay, this is the Olympia.”

Samson Dauda also stated that his confidence grew once he made it to the first call-out.

The bodybuilder said:

“For me, at that point [making first call-out] that was a confirmation of the moment. Like, yeah, I knew I could do this, and I believed without a doubt that I could do this. That was an eye opener. It was for a lot of people, but for me, it was the biggest eye opener. You can dream and work hard but you don’t actually know what happens until it happened.”

Dauda went on to state that his pushing Big Ramy on stage gave him immense motivation for the next year. The Nigerian Lion said that he now looks forward to facing the Egyptian at the 2023 Arnold Classic in 10 weeks’ time. Dauda, who picked up a pair of fourth-place finishes at the Arnold Classic and Boston Pro this year, has his sights set on the prize this time around.

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Samson Dauda on his sixth-place finish at Mr. Olympia

It is pertinent to note that Samson Dauda regards his sixth-place finish in his Mr. Olympia debut as an achievement. Following the competition, Dauda took to Instagram to state that he had the “most amazing weekend” of his life at the event. The bodybuilder said that he was over the moon with the result.

Speaking in a video posted on his Instagram account, he said:

"Wow, wow, what a weekend. This is by far the most amazing weekend I can remember in my life. Not in my wildest dreams did I think I would be able to get this placing at my first Olympia… I'm over the moon. Honestly, I've never felt so happy…”

It will be interesting to see how the bodybuilder builds from the strong debut. It’s safe to say that Samson Dauda will be one of the biggest contenders at the 2023 Mr. Olympia.