Andrew Alvidrez went a perfect 3-for-3 to win the debut of Professional Bull Riders’ (PBR) Unleash The Beast (UTB) in Bridgeport Saturday night before a sold-out crowd at Total Mortgage Arena.
Alvidrez, a native of Seminole, Texas, earned 119 points with the victory — his first of the season — to vault to 14th in the standings.
After riding Real Deal in Round 2 for 86.4 points, Alvidrez secured the second pick of the draft. Selecting Good Riddance, he initially appeared to have bucked off. However, a video review showed the determined cowboy, while being thrown from the powerful bull, was still holding onto the bull rope with his free hand just millimeters from the dirt before the buzzer sounded. The gritty effort earned the former powerlifter 88.25 points and pushed him to the top of the leaderboard.
“It doesn’t matter if I’m on top of the world or in the trenches. Every day I wake up and get at it,” Alvidrez said from the dirt after claiming his fourth premier tour win.
Sage Steele Kimzey (Strong City, Okla.), sidelined this weekend, continues to lead the UTB standings with 500 points. John Crimber, who scored 84.20 points aboard Kodiac in Round 2 to finish 22nd, sits in second. Dalton Kasel, who bucked off Living On A Prayer in Round 2, remains third. Clay Guiton, sidelined due to injury, is fourth, with Leandro Zampollo finishing runner-up on the weekend and sitting fifth.
Zampollo (Pirassununga, Brazil), the No. 5 rider in the world, had the fifth pick of the draft and rode Bex Red Eye for the highest score of the weekend at 90.35 points. He trails Kimzey by 116.5 points in the standings.
Kaiden Loud (Kaufman, Texas) entered the Championship Round seventh and surged to a third-place finish in Bridgeport with an 87.95-point ride aboard Eyes On Me. The 21-year-old now ranks 10th in the standings with 309 points.
The 2018 PBR World Champion Kaique Pacheco (Itatiba, Brazil) finished fourth with 176.45 points. After conquering Kill Switch for 86.15 points in Round 2, the world No. 20 rider selected Lights Out with the first pick of the draft but was bucked off in 4.89 seconds.
Rounding out the top five was Trace Redd (Malad, Idaho), who rode Dirty South for 88.6 points in Round 2 before bucking off Freedom Fighter in the Championship Round. Redd sits No. 41 in the standings following the finish.
Magic Potion extended his PBR-record buckoff streak against reigning 2024 PBR World Champion Cassio Dias (Sao F. de Sales, Brazil) to 57 straight outs without surrendering a ride. Dias selected the bovine 11th in the draft.
Freedom Fighter was the high-scoring bull of the event, earning 45.05 points while bucking off Redd in 2.94 seconds during the Championship Round. He sits No. 15 in the World Bull Standings, led by Man Hater.
The Unleash The Beast season continues March 6-7 with the Kubota PBR Little Rock at Simmons Bank Arena.
