PUEBLO, Colo. – With Hollywood just a few miles away and the best bull riders in the world invading downtown Los Angeles, the stars were shining bright inside Crypto.com Arena as Unleash The Beast put on another electric performance out west.
Featuring 22 different riders to record a qualified ride, none were able to best the heroics of No. 1 Cassio Dias, who not only captured his tour-leading fourth win of the season, but did so in epic fashion by besting No. 1 Man Hater for the first time in PBR history.
Scored 94.75 points for the heroics, he was far from the only rookie who showed up and showed out in L.A., as four of the event’s Top 5 riders were first-year talents. With the class capturing six of the Top 11 overall, it was John Crimber and Marco Rizzo who rounded out the podium, thus 100% belonging to rookies.
And for as much as Dias wants to run away with this thing in historic fashion, Crimber and company definitely have something to say about that.
Twelve events in the books, 12 events remaining, (11 of which will be regular season showdowns, all leading into the 2024 World Finals: Unleash The Beast) the pack has continued to show its stuff while the bulls are giving their all.
And while we’ll be reviewing some of the best scores, wins, wrecks and beyond this week from the first-half slate, we’re going to let the numbers do the talking today.
From the best score in quite a while and a few big injuries stacking up to Rookie of the Year race updates and Man Hater’s dominance, it was yet another one for the books!
With Unleash The Beast preparing to storm into the second-half slate and invade Jacksonville, Florida, Feb. 23-24 during the 13th showdown of the 2024 slate, we’re taking a quick look back at some of the numerical takeaways from last weekend’s Michelob ULTRA PBR Los Angeles, presented by Ariat during this week’s By the Numbers!
.333%: While most cowboys would sign on the dotted line if they could confirm they’d end the Unleash The Beast season with a sound .333 ride percentage, which is essentially covering one out of every three bulls for a score, that figure actually represents No. 1 Cassio Dias’s overall win percentage, as the standout talent captured his premier series-leading fourth win this past weekend in Los Angeles. Appearing in all 12 contests throughout the first half of the electric UTB slate, he became the first rider to secure four wins in a season since Jose Vitor Leme won eight and Kaique Pacheco secured five, now victorious in a third of his opportunities. Officially claiming his career-first UTB win during the second event of the season in St. Louis, Missouri, he’s since added victories to his resume in Johnstown, Pennsylvania, Chicago and most recently Los Angeles, where he’s a combined 11-for-13 (84.6%). Taking home 127 UTB points for the big win, he extended his lead over No. 2 Austin Richardson to a lengthy 317.33 points as he attempts to run away with what would be a second-straight championship claimed by a first-year participant.
RELATED: #InCaseYouMissedIt: Dias stuns with win No. 4, rookies continue dominance and more
94.75: Sure, we could’ve led the entire article with this one, as Dias and No. 1 Man Hater teamed up Saturday night to produce the highest ride score in two years. But with Dias continuing to provide heroics, inventing new levels to stun crowds around the country at, we have a feeling this could be a Top 5 career mark for the cowboy, but we know he’ll top it here sooner or later. Representing the rider’s best score to date, with a 91.75-point mark earlier this season in Johnstown (dancing with Cy Young), there aren’t many words for the showcase he provided. Just chills.
Matching the prized bovines every move, he was able to survive a trio of insanely vertical bucks before the animal athlete attempted to finish Dias off with the spin cycle. Unfortunately for Man Hater’s elite buckoff streak, (previously 30-0 at UTB/Teams events and 39-0 across all levels of PBR competition) which came to an end, it was Dias who soared into the win column. While the bull roughed Dias up a bit following the imperfect dismount, Dias was still able to scoot his way over to the shark cage for his fan-favorite waves and celebration. With a score like that, he deserved to celebrate! Dating back to the 2020 season, there have been 22 ride scores to meet or exceed the 94-point mark (across both PBR Teams and UTB). However, when we update that year to the 2022 season, there have been just seven to meet said mark.
6-for-6: Flawless is a word that typically goes hand-in-hand with riders going 3-for-3 or even 4-for-4 during any given event. It rarely involves the other half of the equation, where Man Hater punches the clock. Yet after seeing his 30 and 39-out streaks come to an end Saturday night inside Crypto.com Arena, he’s still considered flawless at the event level, as the talented bucking professional captured his sixth YETI Bull of the Event title in … well his sixth appearance of the season. Another event, another week we’re bragging about the next-level talents that No. 1 Man Hater continues to display. Adding another flashy effort to his season, this time receiving a 46-point bull score, (which would be a drastic star atop the resumes of most bulls, but merely another quality effort Gene Owen and company have come to expect from their standout), it was technically the bull’s second-lowest score of the season, with a 45.75-point mark in Johnstown remaining his lowest yet (again, still .75 points above what’s considered an ”elite” score). So far throughout 12 UTB events, six 46-point bull scores have been produced. Five of them belong to Man Hater, with the sixth coming from No. 5 Red Demon. Advancing his average score to 45.23, watching Man Hater buck is quite literally watching history at this point, as he attempts to stay hot en route to earning what would be he first world title.
Destined for Second: While Dias very much earned the win, edging out the contest’s runner-up John Crimber by 8.5 points, it doesn’t necessarily soften the blow for Crimber, who’s now collected three second place finishes throughout his past five appearances. Coming up just short in Sacramento, California, and Tulsa, Oklahoma, albeit bringing a No. 5 ranking into Los Angeles, he was able to parlay a favorable showcase inside Crypto.com Arena into a Top 3 spot on tour, now just 117.67 points behind No. 2 Richardson (who’s expected to miss the remainder of the season with injury).
Very much riding the roller coaster over the past month-plus, Crimber has hidden a rideless outing between each of the runner-up efforts, going 0-for-2 in both Houston, Texas, and Salt Lake City, Utah. Which is a bit odd, considering there’s only been three total events in which he’s competed where he hasn’t managed at least one qualified ride (St. Louis, Missouri, Houston and Salt Lake City). Now 8-for-14 throughout last five events (3-for-3 in Tulsa, 3-for-4 in Sacramento, 2-for-3 in Los Angeles), the 18-year-old rookie is now 11 for 24 on the season as he attempts to go head-to-head with Dias for both the Rookie of the Year honors and overall 2024 buckle honors. Since turning pro just six months ago in August, the budding superstar has already earned $178,651 and will look to improve upon his growing estate this weekend in Jacksonville, Florida, just two months after his father Paulo Crimber was named the head coach of the Florida Freedom.
88.5: Back in action for the second-straight weekend and competing in just his fourth event of the season, Jose Vitor Leme teamed up with Hoof Stock Genetics Mud Train to get the opening round win, courtesy of a flashy 88.5-point score. But as Justin McBride mentioned on Saturday’s broadcast, he agitated his previously existing groin injury a bit during the out.
Returning to the chutes on night two to see if he could ride through the pain, he was eventually tossed to the dirt by Black Gold in 5.37 seconds. Noticeably limping and confirming the groin wasn’t in a good spot just yet, he exited the arena and headed right to sports medicine before later doctoring out of the short round. Limited to just eight premier series outs so far in the 2024 slate, albeit still excelling at 6-for-8 overall, he’ll be forced to consider another break to heal up, potentially for the remainder of the individual season if Michael Gaffney, J.J. Gotsch and his Austin Gamblers front office expect him to be back to full health by the time the summer series rolls around. Then again, Leme is one of the world’s most talented and grittiest athletes, so you never know what type of route he’ll take as the winter slate continues. One thing everyone can agree on: the sport is much better off with him in the lineup. With fellow all-world talent in Sage Steele Kimzey opting into a surgery this past week, announced via his Instagram account, the tour will be without another of its top talents for a few months. With several other veteran regulars like Chase Outlaw, Colten Fritzlan, Derek Kolbaba and beyond continuing to miss time with injuries of the own, it’s left plenty of space for the talented 2024 rookie class to shine. Begging the ultimate question: Could a rookie really win the world title for the second-consecutive year after the instance had never occurred in PBR’s inaugural 29 seasons of flare?
RELATED: Rookies sweep podium, claim six of Top 11 spots in L.A. as first-year talent continues to dominate
Four of Five, 6 of 11: Well, if the new kids on the block keep converting at the clip they are, it won’t just be Dias and Crimber competing for the season-end honors, as the first-years collectively showed up in a big way last weekend. Claiming four of the event’s Top 5 spots overall, with Dias and Crimber joining Marco Rizzo and Kaiden Loud within said group, it’s officially the Year of the Rookie (and no, we won’t stop saying it!) With veteran Keyshawn Whitehorse joining the four as the contest’s only five riders to double down, the bull power has been elite overall, but the kids aren’t backing down.
Rizzo, himself, has stormed onto the scene over the past month, but his third-place result in L.A. represents both the first time he’s rode two bulls in the same event while marking his career-best UTB finish. Add in No. 13 Kaiden Loud, who enjoyed his third Top 10 finish of the year, and prospective talents like No. 20 Clay Guiton and PBR Canada regular Jake Gardner, who each produced a qualified ride last weekend en route to securing Top 11 finishes, it’s easy to see why the class is being regarded in legendary fashion. As the circuit prepares to dive into the second-half stretch of events, beginning this weekend in Jacksonville for the U.S. Border Patrol PBR Jacksonville, nine of the Top 20-ranked riders qualify as UTB rookies.
Photo courtesy of Andy Watson/Bull Stock Media
