PUEBLO, Colo. – Closing out the biggest and most prestigious regular season event of the Unleash The Beast tour, No. 1 Cassio Dias and No. 1 Man Hater teamed up once again in a major way.

Forcing each and every fan in attendance inside The Pit to go crazy as he bested the bovine for an insane 93.25 points (remaining the only rider to ever beat the all-but-soon-to-be 2024 YETI World Champion Bull), Dias rocketed to the top of the scoreboard for his heroic efforts.

Able to opt into a head-to-head showdown against the bull with the fourth overall selection in the short round draft, it was practically a good ole case of déjà vu as the 2024 PBR Rookie of the Year frontrunner embraced destiny once more.

“Look, I don’t even care about the scores,” two-time World Champion Justin McBride said on the CBS Sports Broadcast network with a laugh.

“Two totally different types of outs and Dias dominates both of them. That is so fun to watch.”

Putting a majority of his injury concerns in the rear-view as he continues to extend his lead atop the Unleash The Beast World Championship standings (now 481 UTB points ahead of No. 2 John Crimber after netting 169.5 UTB points for his runner-up effort at this weekend’s PBR Albuquerque Ty Murray Invitational), Dias looks like his old self as he’s back to exiting matchups with his crowd-saluting waves and celebratory smiles.

Exactly one year after making his UTB debut inside the very same arena, what a long way the talented Brazilian has come.

RELATED: Arizona Ridge Riders' Eduardo Aparecido wins PBR Ty Murray Invitational, advances to No. 4 rank

While it was No. 4 Eduardo Aparecido who was eventually crowned the event champion, surpassing Dias to earn his first event title of the season in the short round for his 89.25 points of work dancing with Mike’s Motive en route to completing his flawless, 4-for-4 weekend (officially securing his spot at the 2024 World Finals: Unleash The Beast courtesy of his event victory), it was Dias who not only recorded the highest-marked ride of the event …

… and reminded fans and follow riders alike exactly how locked in he is right now.

For the rookie race. In the world title hunt.

And overall, as the industry’s ultimate competitor.

Staring injury, and a whole bunch of bulls, right in the eye as he puts on a show every step of the way!

The Kansas City Outlaws’ epic journey atop the world’s top-ranked bull was far from the only Hollywood-esque matchup to come out of the final PBR Major of the season.

Enter the pride of Navajo Nation, Keyshawn Whitehorse.

Who comes off as much more a lover than a fighter with the big hugs and even larger smiles he sports throughout both premier series and PBR Camping World Team Series seasons.

But between his well-documented physical stature and championship round matchup with Dana White’s Twisted Steel (who’s continuing to round into shape ahead of his star-studded matchup with UFC Hall of Famer Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone at the 2024 PBR World Finals: Unleash The Beast) Sunday afternoon, he was 100% in the fight when the gates swung open.

“Cowboy Cerrone, you better take that one back frame-by-frame, because that is how you do it,” Craig Hummer said on the CBS Sports Network broadcast.

Despite seeing Andrew Alvidrez attempt to best the revered animal athlete just two days prior, only to be dispatched in 3.09 seconds, Whitehorse wanted a shot at one of the tour’s most ferocious talents. He’s never been one to back down from a challenge, just like Cerrone.

“Fight, and he knows a lot about that. The fight doesn’t stop until you make it stop,” Whitehorse shared with Kate Harrison on the CBS Sports Network broadcast when she asked what it would take for the sparring expert to produce a similar outcome.

“I was really disappointed in my previous ride, so I took a lot of that energy and used it on focusing and homing in and I’m really glad it worked out on that bull.”

Scored 88.75 points for his 8 seconds of work atop one of the hardest bulls to ride lately (35-4 overall), he was able to pair the epic out with his opening round, 87.5-point strike aboard Norse God to secure a key sixth-place finish and encompassing 67 UTB points.

Both huge for the McCracken Spring, Utah, native’s confidence and overall premier series ranking, as the 26-year-old is now ranked No. 15 in the world just days after being left unprotected by his Arizona Ridge Riders squad ahead of the PBR Teams Expansion Draft (with both the New York Mavericks and Oklahoma Wildcatters receiving the opportunity to select unprotected riders from each of the founding eight teams next month in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma).

RELATED: PBR Teams announces Expansion Draft-eligible riders ahead of 2024 Camping World Team Series season

If there’s anyone who may be just as upset exiting The Pit as they were involved in contributing toward the event’s overall spiciness, it’s No. 3 Dalton Kasel.

It just felt like a Kasel weekend.

And it was, especially evident in Round 3, when “Mr. 90 Pointer” ripped off a monstrous 91-point effort atop Cliffhanger to capture the round win and earn the first overall selection in the championship round bull draft.

Matching the bovine’s every move, Kasel posted a 2.5 Rider Over Bull score, getting the most out of the smaller bull who still gave it his all. Always capable of showing his opponent off, Kasel looked every bit of what a world title contender should be looking like during the final regular season stretch.

But with Dias teaming up with Man Hater for the second-highest score of the UTB season and Aparecido staying perfect, Kasel was forced to settle for a bronze finish.

That doesn’t change the fact that he’s now turned in podium performances in four of his past five as he continues his ascension up the rankings ahead of the season-culminating showdown in AT&T Stadium May 18-19. And it surely doesn’t take anything away from his third 90 of the season or 151 UTB points he left Albuquerque with.

The event overall was easily one of the most competitive and enticing events of the 2024 slate in general, with 24 different riders making the 8 throughout the four-round showdown.

With five electric conversions coming during the short round, including John Crimber’s 91.5-point effort dancing with Bamboozle and 2018 World Champion Kaique Pacheco’s 90.75-point ride atop UTZ BesTex Smokestack, Sunday’s short round was quite the glimpse into what fans can expect when the best bull riders in the world put it on all on the line May 9-19 during the 2024 PBR World Finals: Unleash The Beast!

Photo courtesy of Andy Watson/Bull Stock Media