UNCASVILLE, Conn. - After missing two weeks with a broken riding hand, J.B. Mauney returns to competition tonight, having switched from his left hand to his right in an effort to retake the No. 1 spot in the world standings.

Mauney clung to a 101.25-point lead after week 12, despite breaking having the hand stepped on in Kansas City, Mo.

J.B. Mauney will try riding with his right hand down tonight in Uncasville, Conn.

He was unable to finish the event.

In the two subsequent events, Valdiron de Oliveira has built a 563-point lead over Mauney - the largest lead of the season. However, last week in Des Moines, Iowa, Oliveira broke a bone in his right foot.

With 1,500 points available this weekend, including 300 points during the 15/15 Bucking Battle, any of the Top 5 riders in the world could leave the East Coast on top.

He, too, will ride this weekend.

With 1,500 points available this weekend, including 300 points during the 15/15 Bucking Battle, any of the Top 5 riders in the world could leave the East Coast on top.

Valdiron de Oliveira is currently on top of the world, by a slim 563 points.

While the spotlight on Mauney and Oliveira has been bright, L.J. Jenkins has quietly ridden his way into fourth place, with four consecutive Top 5 finishes - five in the past six Built Ford Tough Series events.

He is within 946 points of the lead.

After missing the first nine events of the season, Robson Palermo is surging from the bottom of the standings. He won the Des Moines event and is now 16th in the world.

He originally missed the cutoff for the 15/15 Bucking Battle by just 1.75 points, but will replace the injured Stormy Wing in the final spot.

Robson Palermo is surging from the bottom of the standings. He won the Des Moines event and is now 16th in the world.

THE BEST AGAINST THE BEST: The fourth of nine 15/15 Bucking Battles will be held immediately following Round 1 tonight.

It features the Top 15 riders in the world competing against the 15 highest-ranked bulls in Uncasville for an additional purse of $21,000. The bulls were randomly assigned a position from 1-15. The riders were then matched with their bulls based upon their own current rankings in the BFTS standings.

BFTS points will be doubled in the 15/15 Bucking Battle, with the winner receiving 200 points and second place receiving 180 points, continuing on a graduated scale to 20 points for 10th place. Points earned count toward the BFTS standings, but do not count toward determining the event winner in Uncasville. Money earned counts towards qualification for the Built Ford Tough World Finals.

If a rider fails to make a qualified ride, he does not receive any points or money. This week's special matchups include: No. 16 Palermo vs. King Lopez; No. 15 Ty Pozzobon vs. Larry The Cable Guy's Git-R-Done; No. 13 Luke Snyder vs. Jack Daniel's Tennessee Honey; No. 12 Justin Koon vs. Quiet Riot; No. 11 Douglas Duncan vs. Rango; No. 10 Ryan Dirteater vs. Bad Blake; No. 9 Fabiano Vieira vs. Highway 12; No. 8 Austin Meier vs. Delco; No. 7 Renato Nunes vs. Asteroid; No. 6 Guilherme Marchi vs. Shepherd Hills Trapper; No. 5 Silvano Alves vs. South Point; No. 4 Jenkins vs. Jack Daniel's After Party; No. 3 Marco Eguche vs. Shamoun; No. 2 Mauney vs. Mulligan Man, and No. 1 Oliveira vs. High Cost.

PAST 15/15 WINNERS: Sacramento, Calif.: Oliveira, 94 points, Asteroid 47.5 points; Albuquerque, N.M.: Snyder 90 points, Bushwacker 46.5 points;  Indianapolis: Duncan 90.75 points, Asteroid 46.75 points.

TOP 10 SCORES IN 15/15 COMPETITION: 1. Oliveira, Buckey, 94 points, Sacramento; 2. Meier, Shepherd Hills Trapper, 92.25 points, Sacramento; 3. Mauney, Larry the Cable Guy's Git-R-Done, 91.5 points, Sacramento; 4. Duncan, Bad Blake, 90.75 points, Indianapolis; 5. Snyder, Black Attack, 90.25 points, Sacramento; Aaron Roy, Mac-Nett's Southern Wine, 90.25 points, Sacramento; 6. Snyder, Party All The Time, 90 points, Albuquerque; Oliveira, Jr. Bonner, 90 points Albuquerque; Mauney, Ragin JT, 90 points, Kansas City; 9. 89.75 Silvano Alves, High Octane Hurricane, 89.75 points, Albuquerque; 10. Jordan Hupp, Lincoln Electric's Bring It, 89.5 points, Sacramento; Oliveira, Bad Blake, 89.5 points, Albuquerque.

Valdiron de Oliveira and Buckey team up for a season-high 94 points in Sacramento, Calif.

HOW THEY'VE FARED: Of the riders who have competed in all three previous 15/15 matchups, Oliveira and Snyder are both 2-for-3, while Alves, Marchi, Pozzobon and Caleb Sanderson have each ridden one. Mauney, Meier and Hupp are each 1-for-2, and Duncan and Roy are both 1-for-1.

ASTEROID CONTINUES TO IMPRESS: Asteroid scored 47.25 points out of a possible 50 after bucking off Wing in 1.99 seconds in the Built Ford Tough Championship Round in Des Moines last weekend. The score gave him his third Pabst Blue Ribbon Bull Award of the season for being the high-marked bull of the event.

Asteroid makes quick work of Stormy Wing in Des Moines, Iowa.

It was the 13th consecutive buckoff for the second-ranked bull, who improved to 8-0 in 2012.

The 47.25 points is the second-highest bull score of the year, behind Asteroid's own 47.5 points when he bucked off Alves in 1.81 seconds in the 15/15 Bucking Battle in Sacramento.

Asteroid notches 47.5 points in bucking off Silvano Alves in Sacramento, Calif.

The runner-up for World Champion Bull in 2011 now has five of the seven highest bull scores this season.

TV GUIDE: The 15/15 Bucking Battle will be broadcast in its entirety on CBS at 2 p.m. ET on Saturday, April 28. CBS Sports Network will broadcast action from Round 2 at 10 p.m. ET later that night with an encore airing at 1 a.m. ET on Sunday, April 29.

CBS Sports Network will broadcast action from Round 3 and the Built Ford Tough Championship Round at 6 p.m. ET on Sunday, April 29. There will be encore airings at 10 p.m. ET and on Monday, April 30, at 1 a.m. ET.

Veteran broadcaster Craig Hummer will provide the play-by-play. Color commentary will be provided by nine-time World Champion and PBR co-founder Ty Murray. Chute and dirt-level interviews will be handled by Leah Garcia.