SACRAMENTO, Calif. - The top bull riders in the world rose to the occasion Saturday night against the top-ranked bulls.
 
In all they recorded five qualified rides of 90 points or more, including Valdiron de Oliveira's career-best 94 points on Buckey, and seven total rides in the first PBR 15/15 Bucking Battle.
 
"When you bring the best 15 riders and put them on the best 15 bulls, that's what the PBR is all about," said Livestock Director Cody Lambert. "You have to expect them to (ride) like that and they did."
 
Lambert said the round, which will be broadcast Sunday on NBC, was exactly what he and others had hoped for.
 
"You never know if they're going to ride that good," he added, "but they're supposed to. That's how good those guys are, and that's how good those bulls are."
 
Oliveira, who came into the weekend the No. 1 ranked bull rider in the world, made what a career-defining ride when he muscled his way through 8 seconds despite competing with a separated shoulder in his riding arm.

'You never know if they're going to ride that good, but they're supposed to. That's how good those guys are, and that's how good those bulls are.'
 
He was the second-to-last rider of the night, and brought the near-capacity crowd at Power Balance Pavilion to its feet.
 
"I felt ready for that bull tonight," Oliveira said.
 
Oliveira said he watched videos of Buckey earlier in the week, but after bucking off his first round bull in the Ariat Invitational he returned to the locker room determined to refocus on taking advantage of the opportunity.
 
He had bucked off three in a row prior to his round-winning matchup with Buckey.
 
"This was very, very important to me," he added.
 
Oliveira's score was the fifth in a succession of lead changes that also included a 92.25-point score by Austin Meier, who covered Shepherd Hills Trapper two outs earlier. Meier's qualified ride immediately followed J.B. Mauney's 91.5-point effort on Larry the Cable Guy's Git-R-Done.
 
In getting away afterward, Mauney found himself on the shark cage with his helmet off and fists held in the air as he euphorically responded to a standing ovation from the crowd.
 
Luke Snyder and Aaron Roy recorded back-to-back 90.25 point rides on Black Attack and Mac-Nett's Southern Wine, respectively.
 
Jordan Hupp covered Lincoln Electric's Bring It for the third time in his career and a week after covering him in the Built Ford Tough Championship Round to win his third Built Ford Tough Series event. Hupp was 89.5 points, while Caleb Sanderson rode Cowboy Casanova for 88.25 points.
 
This was the first of nine PBR 15/15 Bucking Battles, all of which will be broadcast on network television, and the only one in which the top bull was guaranteed to be matched up against the top rider.
 
Asteroid was marked 47.5 points in bucking off Silvano Alves.
 
Subsequent rounds will now feature matchups in which the Top 15 bulls are randomly drawn into position the week beforehand.
 
"Yeah, it's going to be fun," concluded Lambert.
 
This week's PBR 15/15 Bucking Battle will air Sunday on NBC beginning at 1:30 p.m. ET.