Samson Dauda has won the Men’s Open Bodybuilding event at the 2023 Arnold Classic, which happened Mar. 3-4 at the Greater Columbus Convention Center in Columbus, Ohio. He triumphed over everyone else with Nick Walker finishing as the runner-up and Andrew Jacked taking third place.
Men’s Open class serves as the major attraction of the event. There were multiple elite contenders who made a quick turnaround after the Olympia to compete for the Arnold Classic title. Last year’s champion Brandon Curry did not return to defend the title, making way for a new victor to take the throne.
The organizers raised the stakes by bumping the prize money to a historic $300,000. The move attracted more participants to join the lineup. Nick Walker entered as the highest-ranked Olympian and the betting favorite to win the show. The former Arnold Classic winner was looking to add a second title under his belt. Former two-time Mr. Olympia Mamdouh ‘Big Ramy’ Elssbiay came for redemption after missing the mark at the 2022 Mr. Olympia.
Meanwhile, Akim Williams, two-time Arnold Classic champion, was targeting to add a third title to his resume.
Rising sensation Andrew Jacked came in stellar shape and posed a threat to everyone on stage. Samson Dauda also delivered an impressive performance with his signature posing flow to establish his place in the mix of title contention.
Reigning two-time 212 Olympia winner Shaun Clarida and former Olympia champ Kamal Elgargni made a splash in the Open class. ‘The Giant Killer’ battled it out with the mass monsters and pushed them to the limit with his insane conditioning.
Big Ramy brought the heat early with a significantly better package than his last showing but could not do enough to stay in the final callout as he got sidelined once again. Jacked exhibited an impressive physique along. Walker showed off the massive gains on his back and found himself in a battle with Jacked and Dauda for the top prize.
Samson Dauda came out on top of the Men’s Open bodybuilding at the 2023 Arnold Classic. He presented the best package and got the nod from the judges for one of the most coveted titles in the sport.
2023 Arnold Classic Bodybuilding Results:
- Winner — Samson Dauda ($300,000)
- Second Place — Nick Walker ($120,000)
- Third Place — Andrew Jacked ($70,000)
- Fourth Place — Mamdouh ‘Big Ramy’ Elssbiay ($37,500)
- Fifth Place — Shaun Clarida ($20,000)
- Sixth Place — Akim Williams ($12,500)
- seventh Place — William Bonac ($2,000)
- Eight Place — Justin Rodriguez ($2,000)
- Ninth Place — Kamal Elgargni ($2,000)
- Tenth Place — Patrick Moore ($2,000)
Best Poser Award
- Best poser — Andrew Jacked ($10,000)
Most Muscular Award
- Most muscular — Nick Walker ($10,000)
Past Arnold Classic Winners
- 2022: Brandon Curry
- 2021: Nick Walker
- 2020: William Bonac
- 2019: Brandon Curry
- 2018: William Bonac
- 2017: Cedric McMillan
- 2016: Kai Greene
- 2015: Dexter Jackson
- 2014: Dennis Wolf
- 2013: Dexter Jackson
- 2012: Branch Warren
- 2011: Branch Warren
- 2010: Kai Greene
- 2009: Kai Greene
- 2008: Dexter Jackson
- 2007: Victor Martinez
- 2006: Dexter Jackson
- 2005: Dexter Jackson
- 2004: Jay Cutler
- 2003: Jay Cutler
- 2002: Jay Cutler
- 2001: Ronnie Coleman
- 2000: Flex Wheeler
- 1999: Nasser El Sonbaty
- 1998: Flex Wheeler
- 1997: Flex Wheeler
- 1996: Kevin Levrone
- 1995: Michael Francois
- 1994: Kevin Levrone
- 1993: Flex Wheeler
- 1992: Vince Taylor
- 1991: Shawn Ray
- 1990: Mike Ashley
- 1989: Rich Gaspari
2023 Arnold Classic Scorecard
