Bodybuilding legend Lee Priest has revealed his career-best bench press and weighed in on Samson Dauda's potential for the 2026 Mr. Olympia, sparking debate about the future of the sport's top title.

On February 10, 2026, he appeared on a podcast at Serious and Silliness Bodybuilding, where The Blond Myth revealed his all-time bench press PR as “525 pounds for five reps.”

While his raw power remains a vital talking point, the conversation shifted towards Samson Dauda and how he is redefining size and preparing for the 2026 Mr. Olympia.

Priest said, “I’m interested to see how Samson is going to look at the Olympia. Like, he said, he’s got enough time to hold on to some of that weight, where it’s not like some people, they balloon up, and then as soon as they hit it, boom, come straight back down”.

The winner of the 2024 Mr. Olympia had every chance to win in 2025. However, he slipped into 4th position, losing out against Derek Lunsford, Hadi Choopan, and Andrew Jacked. Now, Dauda is working hard in the off-season to reclaim his title and is targeting to gain 350 pounds. And Priest is interested in seeing what Dauda will present at the Olympia stage.

The Australian bodybuilder said, “He’s got a good time to sit in that 240-250 range, so when he does diet down, it’ll be interesting to see what he comes in the Olympia at in good condition, if he’ll still be 310 or something”.

Not only Priest, but other bodybuilding veterans and insiders have also shown their faith in Dauda.

Other prominent figures’ views on Samson Dauda

In a conversation with BeyondTheStageTv insider Fouad Abid believes that Samson will make a comeback.

He said, “I do believe in 2026, we're gonna see a Samson that we haven't seen before, and it is gonna be too overwhelming for the other competitors”.

Jay Cutler admitted that if Samson comes with his best shape and size, then he feels that “Samson could still win."

Even Milos Sarcev said, “Samson is still uh that hashtag bodybuilder one of the best physiques”.

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Written by

Supradeep Dutta

Edited by

Siddharth Shirwadkar