NEW YORK – Chase Outlaw was inside the bucking chutes at Madison Square Garden on Friday night when he looked down to grab his bull rope.
Outlaw knew what was going to happen next, but even then, he still was not totally prepared to see two of his left riding hand.
The 26-year-old is still less than five months removed from severe facial reconstruction to repair 15 broken bones on each side of his face, as well as additional facial injuries, he sustained at the PBR Touring Pro Division event at Cheyenne Frontier Days in Wyoming on July 23.
Outlaw was able to make a remarkable comeback in 75 days, and he eventually qualified for the 2018 PBR World Finals, finishing in third place with a fantastic 5-for-6 showing in Las Vegas.
However, Outlaw was far from recovered his Cheyenne wreck and he had to undergo a second severe facial reconstructive surgery two days after Thanksgiving.
The 7-hour surgery at Baylor Medical University involved three doctors – an eye specialist, a sinus specialist and a facial reconstructive surgeon. The group worked to re-break his orbital socket, remove some of the 68 screws that were originally put into his face, swapped out two of his 11 titanium plates for three newer ones and broke a chunk of bone off his skull to place over his nose.
Outlaw is now trying to battle through the effects of his latest surgery, which has affected his vision more so than his first surgery, but he says his vision is expected to improve over time.
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“I am still seeing double when I look down,” Outlaw said inside the locker room following his 5.13-second buckoff against Prayer Warrior in the New York 15/15 Bucking Battle.
He then pauses and demonstrates how his left eye is still not fully recovered.
“Look at my eyes when I look down,” Outlaw says before pointing at his left eye struggling to focus downward. “This one is still looking this way.”
Nonetheless, Outlaw was able to brush off his vision woes on Friday night to ride Striker for 87.25 points in Round 1 of the Monster Energy Buck Off at The Garden, presented by Ariat.
“You ride by feel and all of that, but when you look down and your vision goes cross it messes with you,” Outlaw said.
“I have been worrying about this whole time,” Outlaw said. “It is another adversity. You just improvise, adapt and overcome.”
With each qualified ride he makes since his original wreck at Cheyenne, Outlaw gets closer to writing a new chapter of his career.
Outlaw has now ridden 20 of 27 bulls (74.07 percent) at all levels of competition since he returned to action on Oct. 6.
He is slated to face Anonymous (4-0, UTB) in Round 2 on Saturday night.
Fans can watch Round 2 on RidePass at 6:45 p.m. ET and CBS Sports Network at 8 p.m. ET.
Outlaw understands people are going to keep talking about his surgeries and the Cheyenne wreck, but he wants to be more than just the rider that they announce over the loudspeakers that broke his face.
The Hamburg, Arkansas, bull rider knows he is World Champion caliber, and his riding is living up to those standards.
“I have been at the Finals seven times now,” Outlaw said. “I think I deserve it, but ain’t nobody going to give it to me. I have to go take it. I know if somebody else wants it, they better be ready for a dogfight. If I don’t do my job, and somebody else does their job, that is on me. I am here to ride one bull at a time, and if I do that, then the rest will take care of itself.”
Outlaw has had to miss the start of two of the last four seasons because of reconstructive shoulder surgeries, and this year he considers himself “fresh” despite his vision problems.
The last time Outlaw started a year healthy was 2017, when he finished a career-best No. 6 in the world standings.
Outlaw is grateful to be starting the year on the Unleash The Beast and being able to pursue a world title from start to finish once again.
“Man, I am starting out this season fresh,” he said. “This is the first time I have started out a season fresh in I don’t know how many years. I am not going to get it this year. I am coming to take it.
“With every negative aspect in anything I got, I look at the positive aspects of it. It could be worse. I could be at the house lamed up, but I am here doing what I love and providing for my family.”
Follow Justin Felisko on Twitter @jfelisko
