After two weeks of intense build up, last weekend’s Arnold UK delivered the encore battle bodybuilding fans had been hoping for, as defending Arnold Classic champion Hadi Choopan managed to defeat an improved Samson Dauda for the second time in a row, on the way to definitively cementing himself as the number one threat to challenge Derek Lunsford for his Olympia title this fall.
Once again, Hadi’s performance drew rave reviews from across the bodybuilding community, including from Chris Aceto, who had strong praise for the Persian Wolf on the RxMuscle Arnold UK Recap show:
“…he probably scares a lot of people in the (Olympia) lineup.”
Although Hadi brought home the win, during both the Prejudging and the Finals there did appear to be split opinions from fans about who was in the lead heading into the evening – including a strong contingent of Samson supporters who believed that the improved conditioning and separation that he brought in were enough to give him the edge over Hadi, who didn’t deliver the same level of graininess and detail that we saw from him at the Arnold Classic two weeks ago, which is his best overall performance to date. However, any notions of Samson being potentially outpaced in the Finals were quickly dispelled after the show when the judges scorecards were revealed, showing that he led the way from wire-to-wire for the second time in a row.
At this point, after two decisive victories over top-tier competition, there doesn't seem to be any doubt that Hadi is pulling out all the stops in route to, what appears to be, another epic push for the title at Olympia weekend in October. And, if his first two outings this season are any indicator of what’s to come, then defending champion Derek Lunsford might have his hands full, because the Persian Wolf is hunting gold.
