PUEBLO, Colo. - The Professional Bull Riders on Tuesday announced the matchups for the first PBR 15/15 Bucking Battle that will take place as part of the PBR Built Ford Tough Series Ariat Invitational on Saturday, Jan. 28, at Power Balance Pavilion in Sacramento, Calif., and will be broadcast on NBC on Sunday, Jan. 29.

Featuring the Top 15 riders in the world competing against the 15 highest-ranked bulls at the event, PBR 15/15 Bucking Battle will take place following Round 1. The PBR 15/15 Bucking Battle will be broadcast in its entirety on NBC at 1:30 p.m. ET on Sunday, Jan. 29.

Tickets are available at the Power Balance Pavilion box office, www.Ticketmaster.com, and by telephone at (800) 745-3000 or (916) 928-6900. It is the eighth season in a row, and the ninth time overall, that the BFTS has visited Sacramento.

The premier matchup in Sacramento will be 2011 PBR World Champion Silvano Alves against the current top-ranked bull in the world, Asteroid. Asteroid made his season debut on Jan. 15 in Anaheim, Calif., and won the Pabst Blue Ribbon Bull Award for being the highest marked bull of the event. Asteroid was the reserve world champion last year, with two of the Top 10 bull scores in 2011, and was the high-marked bull at four consecutive events in Tulsa, Okla.; San Antonio; Springfield, Mo.; and Milwaukee.

Alves is the only rider in history to win the PBR World Championship immediately after winning PBR Rookie of the Year.

"Great sports moments happen when the two best athletes in a sport collide in a defining match up," said PBR President & COO Sean Gleason. "This format pits the Top 15 bull riders in the world against the Top 15 bulls throughout the season on network television.  It's a format our fans have asked for and it is going to deliver."

2011 PBR World Champion Bull Bushwacker will not be competing in Sacramento, having undergone surgery on Jan. 3 to remove bone fragments from his rear legs. Bushwacker is expected to be out of action for 60 days, and is tentatively scheduled to return to competition in time for the Dickies® Iron Cowboy III presented by WinStar World Casino on March 3 at Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas.

The current No. 1 rider in the world, Valdiron de Oliveira, will be paired with Buckey, who was the high-marked bull last weekend in Portland, Ore., while 2008 PBR World Champion Guilherme Marchi will be matched up with Smackdown, who was one of the finalists for World Champion Bull in 2011 as well as being the high-marked bull at four events a year ago.

Austin Meier, who is currently ranked second in the world, will be on Shepherd Hills Trapper, while J.B. Mauney is paired up with Larry the Cable Guy's Git R Done, and L.J. Jenkins will be matched up with Jack Daniel's Tennessee Honey. Ryan McConnel will be paired with Highway 12 while Aaron Roy is on Southern Wine, and Luke Snyder, who is ranked third in the world, will face Black Attack. Caleb Sanderson will go against Cowboy Casanova, while 2009 PBR Rookie of the Year Cody Nance will be paired with Jack Daniel's After Party, and Canada's Ty Pozzobon will be pitted against Mellow Yellow Jacket.

Silvano Alves lasted just 3.23 seconds on Asteroid last July in Thackerville, Okla.

Jordan Hupp will have a rematch with Lincoln Electric's Bring It, whom he rode for 86.25 points in the Built Ford Tough Championship Round en route to the event win last weekend at Portland, Ore. The last two pairings have Renato Nunes on Shepherd Hills Sodbuster, and Brazil's Marco Eguche on Speckled Ivory.

Alves, Oliveira, Marchi, Meier, Mauney, Jenkins, McConnel, Roy, Snyder, and Sanderson gained their berth in the PBR 15/15 Bucking Battle based upon their finishes in the final 2011 PBR BFTS standings. Alves (1), Oliveira (2), Marchi (4), Meier (6), Mauney (7), Jenkins (8), and McConnel (10) were all ranked in the Top 10, while Roy (11), Snyder (12), and Sanderson (13) are competing in place of Robson Palermo (3), Fabiano Vieira (5), and Shane Proctor (9), who are unable to compete in Sacramento.

Nance (4), Pozzobon (6), Eguche (7), Hupp (8), and Nunes (11) qualified by being the five currently highest-ranked riders who are not in the Top 10 from 2011. Nance won the season-opening event at Madison Square Garden in New York, and Hupp finished first at last weekend's event in Portland.

PBR 15/15 Bucking Battle replaces the short round at nine events, and points earned in the special event do not count toward the results of the event. BFTS points will be doubled in the PBR 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 in the PBR 15/15 Bucking Battle will count toward the season standings, and 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.

The other dates for PBR 15/15 Bucking Battle are March 24 at Albuquerque, N.M.; April 14 at Indianapolis; April 28 at Uncasville, Conn.; May 5 at Billings, Mont.; May 11 at Boise, Idaho; and May 19 at Pueblo, Colo. Two more events in the second part of the season will be announced at a later date.

The remaining PBR 15/15 Bucking Battle will feature the Top 15 riders in the BFTS standings randomly paired with the 15 highest-ranked bulls at the event. The 15 bulls will be randomly drawn the week before the event, and assigned a position from 1-15. The Top 15 riders will be assigned a bull according to their standings at the conclusion of the preceding event.

The BFTS is televised every week on CBS, CBS Sports Network, NBC, NBC Sports Network, and YouTube. BFTS telecasts are produced for the PBR under a multi-year agreement with David Neal Productions, a Los Angeles-based production company led by 34-time Emmy® Award winner and Peabody Award winner David Neal, who serves as executive producer.

PBR 15/15 Bucking Battle
Saturday, Jan. 28 at Power Balance Pavilion
Bucking Order

Renato Nunes vs. Shepherd Hills Sodbuster
Jordan Hupp vs. Lincoln Electric's Bring It
Marco Eguche vs. Speckled Ivory
Ty Pozzobon vs. Mellow Yellow Jacket
Cody Nance vs. Jack Daniel's After Party
Caleb Sanderson vs. Cowboy Casanova
Luke Snyder vs. Black Attack
Aaron Roy vs. Southern Wine
Ryan McConnel vs. Highway 12
L.J. Jenkins vs. Jack Daniel's Tennessee Honey
J.B. Mauney vs. Larry the Cable Guy's Git R Done
Austin Meier vs. Shepherd Hills Trapper
Guilherme Marchi vs. Smackdown
Valdiron de Oliveira vs. Buckey
Silvano Alves vs. Asteroid