PUEBLO, Colo. – Chase Outlaw has learned over the years to never look too far into the future, especially when it comes to chasing a World Championship.

The No. 2 rider in the world has qualified for the PBR World Finals seven times despite a slew of injuries, including serious facial reconstructive surgery and three shoulder surgeries, so, of course, he knows never to look past the close to 2,000-pound bovine opponents standing right in front of him.

In the blink of an eye, everything can change.

Therefore, Outlaw will not put much thought into his upcoming showdown with reigning three-time World Champion SweetPro’s Bruiser until the beginning of the 15/15 Bucking Battle on Saturday night.

He has work to do before then, which includes the possibility of taking over the world lead before he even climbs aboard Bruiser inside The Schottenstein Center.

The Hamburg, Arkansas, bull rider is headed to Clovis, California, Thursday for the Touring Pro Division event at 6:30 p.m. ET.

Outlaw is slated to take on Air Technician (1-0,all levels) in Round 1. Air Technician is 4-1 at all PBR and rodeo events. Chase Dougherty rode him for 88 points at the Denver National Western Stock Show & Rodeo in January.

Clovis is a TPD Major event and one rider can take home 220 points toward the world standings.

Outlaw trails world leader Jose Vitor Leme, who is not competing in Clovis, by 249.16 points.

“It’s a chance to go get Velocity-level points,” Outlaw said. “Them points matter. I will go to Clovis then to Columbus.”

Outlaw will be joined by nine other Top 40 riders in Clovis – No. 12 Matt Triplett, No. 15 Derek Kolbaba, No. 17 Cannon Cravens, No. 21 Stetson Lawrence, No. 22 Joe Frost, No. 28 Scottie Knapp, No. 30 Keyshawn Whitehorse, No. 35 Daylon Swearingen and No. 37 Brennon Eldred.

Lawrence, Frost, Knapp and Whitehorse could also earn enough points to bump No. 18 Alisson de Souza out of the 15/15 Bucking Battle this weekend.

The PBR competition department decided to make sure the Top 15 riders in the world standings competing in Columbus this weekend will be in the 15/15 Bucking Battle seeing as there is this mid-week TPD event.

The 15/15 Bucking Battle airs Sunday on CBS national television at 1 p.m. ET.

If Outlaw sweeps Clovis, he would trail Leme by only 29.16 points heading into Round 1 of the Wrangler Long Live Cowboys Classic, presented by Cooper Tires, in Columbus, Ohio.

Outlaw has drawn All The Way Up (9-7, UTB) for Round 1 in Columbus on Saturday night, while Leme is set to square off vs. Big Black Cat. All The Way Up bucked Outlaw off in 3.13 seconds at the 2017 PBR World Finals.

However, All The Way Up has surrendered five straight qualified rides on the Unleash The Beast to left-handed riders for an average of 86.4 points.

Big Black Cat bucked Leme off in 7.84 seconds last season in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

There will be a brief two-week break for the Unleash The Beast following Columbus. The next UTB event will be the Ty Murray Invitational on May 17-20 in Albuquerque.

Bull riding will not be on a complete break though.

There will be a series of non-UTB events taking place in between Columbus and Albuquerque, including the PBR Canada International Major in Quebec on May 4; the Cactus Jack Bull Riding in Uvalde, Texas, TPD event on May 3-4; The Buck Commander PBR Shootout in Batesville, Mississippi, on May 4; the Elmira, New York, TPD event on May 11-12; and the Ridin’ With Mason Lowe First Annual Bull Riding on May 11 in Cassville, Missouri.

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Outlaw has not competed since going 1-for-4 in Billings, Montana. He was able to use the time off to let his sore hips recover some.

“Sports medicine is working on it every day,” Outlaw said in Billings about his hips. “They are just so tight. They did this a couple of years ago and gave me some problems. One day it just quit hurting and it never hurt again until about 20 bulls ago.”

The 26-year-old leads the PBR with 23 qualified rides on the premier series, 28 rides at all levels and he is tied for the most events attended (20) at all levels of competition.

The Easter break was good for him as he enjoyed his time off at home, and he was able to attend his daughter, Chloe’s, first T-ball game.

JOAO RICARDO VIEIRA PULLS OUT OF CLOVIS; WILL RIDE IN COLUMBUS

World No. 3 Joao Ricardo Vieira had every intention of riding in Clovis Thursday before learning of the passing of his grandmother, Amelia Josue da Silva, on Wednesday.

Amelia was one of the biggest supporters of Vieira’s career and pursuit of a gold buckle in the United States.

He posted a small tribute video in her honor late Wednesday evening.

The 34-year-old did confirm with the PBR that he would still compete on Saturday and Sunday in Columbus.

Follow Justin Felisko on Twitter @jfelisko