GLENDALE, Ariz. – Mauricio Gulla Moreira (Gaviao Peixoto, Brazil) delivered three 90-point rides in three tries at Glendale’s PBR (Professional Bull Riders) Unleash The Beast (UTB), winning the PBR U.S. Border Patrol Invitational, presented by Cooper Tires, on Sunday afternoon and climbing to No. 2 in PBR’s world standings.
After winning the first two rounds in Glendale, Moreira needed only 81.5 points to win the event. He nodded his head and, on the night’s last out, knocked down a 91.75-point score.
Following a first-place finish on Saturday night, Moreira began the final day of the event atop the leaderboard and was paired with WSM’s Nasty Wishes (WSM Auctioneers/ Clay Struve/ Dakota Rodeo/Chad Berger) in Round 2.
Launching from the chutes aboard his bovine opponent, Moreira collected the highest score of Sunday’s opening round with an impressive 90.5-point score, his second 90-point score of the weekend, to sail into the championship round.
The 22-year-old Brazilian then selected I’m Legit Too (Hart Cattle Co/ Hale) as his matchup in the final round.
As the last rider of the day, Moreira had the Arizona crowd at full volume as he was in complete control, delivering a picturesque ride.
Moreira let loose a thunderous roar, and a wide smile crossed his face as he realized he had clinched the walk-off win, his second event win of the 2022 UTB season, with 91.75 points.
While one other rider, Luciano De Castro (Guzolandia, Brazil), went 3-for-3 on the weekend, Moreira emerged victorious with an aggregate score of 272.25 points. He collected 157 world points and a check for $48,271.
After beginning the weekend in the No. 5 spot in the world standings, Moreira’s new hold on No. 2 puts him a mere 32.66 points behind world leader Daylon Swearingen (Piffard, New York), who bucked off both his Round 1 and Round 2 bulls.
De Castro, who held the event lead down to the final seconds in the championship round, was the only other cowboy to ride all three of his bulls in Arizona for a second-place finish.
The runner-up spot earned him $18,520 and 93.5 world points, moving De Castro to the No. 6 spot in the world standings after coming into the weekend at No. 8.
Early Sunday afternoon, De Castro was paired with Homegrown (Cord McCoy/ Chad Reese) for Round 2. His 87-point score paved his way to the championship round.
The talented young Brazilian then chose Diddy Wa Diddy (Cord McCoy/ Bill McCarty) in the championship round, riding him for a solid 88.75 points.
Following a historic win in Arlington, Texas, just one week prior at The American Rodeo 2022, where he collected a record $2.1 million at the richest single-day rodeo in western sports, 2018 PBR World Champion Kaique Pacheco (Itatiba, Brazil) scored the highest ride of the weekend to claim third place.
Earlier in the day, the stoic Brazilian was paired with Crystal Fox (Hart Cattle Company) in Round 2, collecting an 88.5-point score and greenlighting his ticket into the championship round.
The 27-year-old then chose Pookie Holler (Dakota Rodeo/ Brian & Ashley Pinta/ Clay Struve/ Chad Berger) for the final round. What started as a crowd-pleasing ride as the chutes opened soon had the audience and Pacheco’s fellow riders alike screaming in support. The former World Champion pumped his fists in the air as his monster 92.75-point ride score was announced.
Pacheco collected 83 world points and $15,691 for his 2-for-3 performance, launching him from No. 52 in the world standings as the weekend began to No. 24 as Sunday rolled to an end.
Paired with JuJu (Tommy Julian/ D&H Cattle) in Round 2, Kyler Oliver (Roy, Utah) launched from the chutes but was dispatched at 5.85 seconds.
The young gun from Utah then selected Ridin Solo (Cord McCoy/ Bill McCarty) for the championship round knowing he needed to catapult himself up the leaderboard. Recording a 90.75-point score, he did just that to collect a fourth-place finish.
He now holds the No. 4 spot in the world standings, a slight setback from starting the weekend at No. 3.
For his efforts, he collected 56 world points and a check for $9,457 for his 2-for-3 weekend.
Derek Kolbaba (Walla Walla, Washington) rounded out the Top 5 of the weekend, also with a 2-for-3 performance.
Kolbaba was paired with Bad John (D&H Cattle Company/ Buck/ Watts) in Round 2, recording 87 points. In the championship round, his selection of Woopaa (Barker Bulls/ Hookin’ W Ranch) had the crowd cheering and his fellow riders in awe.
Two-time reigning PBR World Champion Jose Vitor Leme (Ribas do Rio Pardo, Brazil) made history in late 2021 on the reigning World Champion Bull, recording the highest ride score in PBR history at 98.75 points.
Despite Kolbaba’s best efforts to stay aboard the immensely athletic bovine, he came crashing down after 6.99 seconds. A visibly frustrated Kolbaba walked swiftly to the locker room.
The impressive out earned Woopaa the YETI “Built for The Wild” Bull of the Event title. The magnificent animal athlete was marked an event-best 46.5 points.
Despite the short round buckoff, the Washington cowboy earned 47.5 world points to move from No. 20 in the world standings to No. 15.
Leme, who now sits at No. 5 in the world standings, split a 14th-place finish with countryman Joao Ricardo Vieira (Itatinga, Brazil). Both riders conquered their bulls in the opening round on Sunday, but neither qualified for the championship round after bucking off on Saturday. Vieira is now No. 3 in the world standings.
PBR RidePass on Pluto TV will offer re-airs and on-demand replays of every PBR Unleash The Beast event. PBR RidePass is available on desktops, laptops and mobile devices via www.pluto.tv. Tune to channel 720 for the latest programming schedule.
The PBR Unleash The Beast next travels to Kansas City, Missouri, and T-Mobile Center for the PBR Caterpillar Classic, presented by Union Home Mortgage, on Friday, March 18 at 7:45 p.m. CDT and Saturday, March 19 at 6:45 p.m. CDT.
Elsewhere in the PBR, on the Pendleton Whisky Velocity Tour, Arkansas cowboy Brandon Davis (Cabot, Arkansas) won the Bangor Classic Sunday afternoon inside the Cross Insurance Arena in Bangor, Maine, after going 2-for-4 to collect his first event win of the 2022 PWVT season.
With a first-place finish in Round 1 on Friday night courtesy of an 87.5-point ride aboard Slammer (Cornwell Bucking Bulls) and a fourth-place finish in Saturday’s Round 2 paired with Pneu-Dart’s Damage Goods (Mike Miller Bucking Bulls) for 84.5 points, Davis set himself up for a successful weekend despite hitting the dirt early in both Round 3 and the championship round.
Davis earned 39 world points for his efforts in Maine and is now ranked at No. 43 in the world standings.
Additionally, in front of a raucous crowd Saturday night in Dayton, Ohio, 47-year-old Venn Johns (Bixby, Oklahoma) laughed in the face of Father Time to reach a critical career milestone. Going a perfect 2-for-2 inside the Nutter Center, Johns won his career-first PBR event at the PWVT’s Dayton Rumble.
Johns was quick to strike in Round 1, delivering the third-best score when he rode Betcha Boots (Halpain Bucking Bulls) for 87 points.
In the championship round, Johns was unrivaled. The Oklahoman surged to the top of the event leaderboard after covering Homeboy (T&G Bucking Bulls) for a round-winning 86.5 points.
For his efforts, Johns earned a much-needed 38.5 world points. After beginning the event ranked No. 157, the veteran contender climbed more than 90 positions, now ranked No. 63.
PBR Unleash The Beast - PBR U.S. Border Patrol Invitational, presented by Cooper Tires
Gila River Arena -Glendale, Arizona
Event Leaders (Round 1-Round 2-Round 3-Event Aggregate-Event Points)
1. Mauricio Gulla Moreira, 90-90.5-91.75-272.25-157 Points.
2. Luciano De Castro, 86-87-88.75-261.75-93.5 Points.
3. Kaique Pacheco, 0-88.5-92.75-181.25-83 Points.
4. Kyler Oliver, 88.75-0-90.75-179.50-56 Points.
5. Derek Kolbaba, 88-87-0-175.00-47.5 Points.
6. Brady Oleson, 89.25-84.25-0-173.50-38 Points.
7. Chase Dougherty, 0-87.75-0-87.75-22.5 Points.
(tie). Eduardo Aparecido, 87.75-0-0-87.75-20.5 Points.
9. Andrew Alvidrez, 0-87.25-0-87.25-20 Points.
10. João Henrique Lucas, 0-86.75-0-86.75-15 Points.
11. Rafael Henrique dos Santos, 86.5-0-0-86.50-15 Points.
12. Austin Richardson, 0-86.25-0-86.25-12 Points.
13. Bob Mitchell, 0-86-0-86.00-11 Points.
14. João Ricardo Vieira, 0-85.5-0-85.50-9.5 Points.
(tie). Jose Vitor Leme, 0-85.5-0-85.50-9.5 Points.
16. Ramon de Lima, 0-84.75-0-84.75-8 Points.
17. Brady Fielder, 83.5-0-0-83.50-12 Points.
18. Casey Coulter, 82.5-0-0-82.50-11 Points.
19. Eli Vastbinder, 82-0-0-82.00-10 Points.
20. Conner Halverson, 79.75-0-0-79.75-8 Points.
Daylon Swearingen, 0-0-0-0.00
Dener Barbosa, 0-0-0-0.00
Dalton Kasel, 0-0-0-0.00
Mason Taylor, 0-0-0-0.00
Manoelito de Souza Junior, 0-0-0-0.00
Cody Teel, 0-0-0-0.00
Marco Eguchi, 0-0-0-0.00
Claudio Montanha Jr., 0-0-0-0.00
Alex Cardozo, 0-0-0-0.00
Clayton Sellars, 0-0-0-0.00
Silvano Alves, 0-0-0-0.00
Lane Nobles, 0-0-0-0.00
Dakota Louis, 0-0-0-0.00
Sam Woodall, 0-0-0-0.00
Tye Chandler, 0-0-0-0.00
Dawson Branton, 0-0-0-0.00
Keyshawn Whitehorse, 0-0-0-0.00
Fernando Henrique Novais, 0-0-0-0.00
Cody Jesus, 0-0-0-0.00
