FORT WORTH, Texas — Inside Dickies Arena, the Kansas City Outlaws looked like they were headed for another heartbreak. The Oklahoma Wildcatters had struck first, JaCauy Hale putting up 82.75 points on Big Jake, and the Outlaws had nothing but buckoffs to show for their efforts.
Then came a re-ride option — the kind of do-or-die chance that can shift a season. Head Coach J.W. Hart didn’t hesitate. He handed the rope to a 26-year-old from Fernandópolis, Brazil: Natanael Serra Aires.
“When they said it was me, my first thought was, oh shoot” — in colorful Portuguese, of course, Aires said later with a grin. “But it had to be me. I just put my mind in the right spot, and then I rode my bull.”
Eight seconds on Smooth Violation later, the scoreboard flashed 86.5, the Outlaws roared from the chutes, and Aires had his first career walk-off — the defining moment of his young PBR journey.
The ride was more than a score. It was a full-circle moment for Aires. Drafted in the second round in 2025 by Hart, he had been immediately taken under the wing of Assistant Coach Guilherme Marchi — the World Champion and Brazilian icon who helped bring Aires “home” to Kansas City. Marchi has long been a leader and role model young Brazilians and Americans alike grew up admiring.
Back then, Aires was beaming ear-to-ear just to join an organization tied to such a figure. On Saturday, he was beaming again, this time surrounded by teammates. Marchi punched Hart in the arm as the bench behind them exploded into shouts and fists in the air. From the chutes, Hart jabbed a finger toward his rider the second the whistle sounded, a grin breaking across his face.
Before anyone could reach him, Aires climbed the shark cage and dropped into burpees, hammering out reps as the crowd at Dickies roared. It was his post-ride “workout,” a tradition and celebration that tied directly into the work that made the moment possible — the morning workouts, the hours spent practicing, the sweat poured into every pre-event warmup before the whistle ever sounds. For Aires, the burpees weren’t just a show for the fans. They were a symbol of the grind behind the glory, the same grind that sees him crank out an estimated 100 burpees a day.
And then came Koltin Hevalow. Kansas City’s steady lead-off man — who had watched three straight teammates hit the dirt before the re-ride call — bolted from the sideline like a sprinter. “Run, Forrest, run,” Hevalow tore across the dirt. He sprinted into the arena to embrace his unexpected closer, colliding with Aires in a mix of sweat, relief and joy. Behind them, the rest of the Outlaws poured forward, boots pounding, helmets flying, the celebration as raw as the ride itself.
For Kansas City, a season scarred by bruises and buckoffs has still been defined by unity. As the team piled in around their hero, Aires wrapped his arms around both Marchi and Hart on the chutes, pulling his coaches in tight. Hart leaned in and patted him on the head like a proud father.
“Sometimes it’s a long shot that pulls you through,” Hart said with a grin. “Good boy.”
The Outlaws are still tied with Oklahoma at 10-19, holding the No. 7 seed by points. Even without team staple and World Champion Cassio Dias, sidelined by hand surgery but expected back before 2026, Kansas City is proving they’re still every bit the “bad mother****” Dias promised back in the beginning of the season during the opening weekend in Oklahoma. English is still a second language for Dias, and like teaching a kid to cuss, the bad words are always the easiest to learn — and the quickest to stick.
Dias may be missing from the lineup, but his swagger remains. Saturday was proof that even stripped down, Kansas City can still play the high card.
“All the weight was lifted off me,” Aires admitted. “I praise God for the opportunity.”
The crowd fed on the eruption in black and orange down below. For a team that had carried the weight of a hard season, it was more than just a win. It was catharsis — the kind that comes when the cards finally fall your way, and the man holding them is the one nobody expected.
And maybe that’s what makes this ride more than a highlight. Aires’ walk-off wasn’t just about one scoreboard swing against Oklahoma, or one night in Fort Worth. It was about what Kansas City has been searching for all year: proof. Proof that the grit is still there, that the belief runs deeper than the standings, that the Outlaws can still punch above their weight even without their cornerstone in Dias.
If this season has taught them anything, it’s that wins won’t come easy. They’ll come ugly, they’ll come late, they’ll come off re-rides and long shots. But in those eight seconds on Smooth Violation, the Outlaws found a glimpse of who they are — a team that refuses to fold, a team that still knows how to fight, a team that can ride sunshine out of storm clouds. Aires’ burpees on the shark cage were more than just a celebration; they were a reminder that it’s the unseen grind, the early mornings, the countless hours of preparation, and those 100 daily burpees that make the victory possible.
For Kansas City, Natanael Serra Aires wasn’t just a re-ride. He was the card nobody expected to be played — proof that sometimes the highest card in the deck isn’t the one you need to win the game. On this night in Fort Worth, the Outlaws were dealt the right hand, and Natanael Serra Aires was the high card for KC.
Now the Outlaws will look to carry that momentum into their homestead. Outlaw Days, presented by Bad Boy Mowers and Tractors, takes over T-Mobile Center in Kansas City, Missouri, Oct. 3-5.
PBR Teams: Outlaw Days — Kansas City, Mo. / T-Mobile Center
Fri., 7:45 p.m. CT
Sat., 6:45 p.m. CT
Sun., 11:15 a.m. CT
Opening night matchups:
Nashville Stampede vs. Oklahoma Wildcatters
Texas Rattlers vs. New York Mavericks
Florida Freedom vs. Arizona Ridge Riders
Missouri Thunder vs. Austin Gamblers
Carolina Cowboys vs. Kansas City Outlaws
Photo courtesy of Bull Stock Media