LOS ANGELES – There was a brief period where Alisson de Souza was the braver twin when it came to him and his brother Alan.
The two were roughly 10 years old when they began to start getting on calves in Taubate, Brazil, and Alan would often be the one holding the calves for his brother to get on.
After about four or five, though, Alan decided he too wanted to climb aboard one of the calves.
“My brother was always more courageous than me,” Alan said Friday night inside the STAPLES Center with the help of Paulo Crimber translating. “He started before I did. I would hold the calves for him. But just seeing him get on and ride so many times, I just started to like to do it.”
Alisson may have gotten things started, but what developed for Alan was a pure passion and love for the sport of professional bull riding.
Twelve years later, the identical twins have come to the United States and are competing at the highest level of professional bull riding.
“Now we both have courage,” Alan said.
Alisson made his debut in the United States last year, ultimately winning the 2018 Velocity Tour championship and qualifying for the 2018 PBR World Finals. On Friday night his brother Alan joined him on the Unleash The Beast for his debut.
Alan did not wait long to make a good first impression either, riding Dynamite Cap for 86.25 points to finish Round 1 of Iron Cowboy, presented by Ariat, in third place, advancing to Round 2 of the progressive formatted event.
“I’m really happy to have my first ride ever at my first event, at this big event,” Alan said. “I just hope to get good draws tomorrow and make a lot more rides like this and stay on the Top 35 for a long time.”
Alan picked up 60 world points to move up to No. 29 in the world standings.
Alisson is ranked 16th and advanced to Round 2 based on his world ranking after bucking off Pure Gangster in 5.28 seconds.
“It is really amazing and I cannot explain how happy I am to be here,” Alan said. “We always dreamed to be here and here we are today with the best bull riders in the world and the best bulls. It is amazing.”
There were only 18 rides in Round 1, so the final seven spots were filled via world rank for the riders at the start of the event. Emilio Resende (broken right collarbone) was replaced by No. 17 Danilo Carlos Sobrinho.
Alan will take on Anthrax (6-3, UTB) in Round 2 on Saturday night.
Fans can watch Round 2 of the Iron Cowboy Saturday night on CBS Sports Network at 10:30 p.m. ET. RidePass will also have coverage beginning at 9:45 p.m. ET.
Riders have to reach the 8-second mark to advance in the competition.
Iron Cowboy is a minimum of two rounds and a maximum of five.
If all riders buck off in Rounds 2, 3 or 4, all riders that attempted a bull advance to the next round.
If there is more than one ride in the final round (Round 5), then the Iron Cowboy will be the rider with the highest ride score in Round 5. If there are no rides in Round 5, then the Iron Cowboy will be the rider with the most round points that had competed in Round 5.
Alan is nearly a carbon copy of his brother.
Not only do the two look completely alike, but their mannerisms, riding gear and riding style are also essentially identical.
Alan said that if you take a closer look you can find some slight differences in their riding.
“I ride a little bit more aggressive with strength and he rides more technical,” Alan said.
Alisson has yet to win an Unleash The Beast event just yet, but Alan says he is not intimidated by the magnitude or scope of the PBR’s rankest tour.
He is looking forward to trying to become the first rookie to win the Iron Cowboy on Saturday night.
“I am really happy,” Alan concluded. “I am really prepared to ride bulls. I am really calm and focused. I am not nervous.
“I am ready to go.”
Follow Justin Felisko on Twitter @jfelisko
