PBR Salt Lake City: The 2026 PBR Unleash The Beast season prepares to invade Salt Lake City, Utah, for the eighth premier series event of the year inside Delta Center. With two rounds of rider cuts already in the books and the next wave coming immediately after this weekend, PBR Salt Lake City presented by Busch Light arrives at a pivotal moment in the World Championship race and the battle to stay on tour.
Action begins Friday, Feb. 6, at 7:45 p.m. MT with Round 1 and concludes Saturday, Feb. 7, at 7:45 p.m. MT with Round 2 and the Championship Round. All rounds will be available on Paramount+, with the Monster Energy Team Challenge games (Kansas City vs. Missouri and Arizona vs. Oklahoma) airing on CBS Television Network on Sunday, Feb. 8, at 12 p.m. ET.
ROCK, PAPER, SCISSORS
After the first two sets of cuts following New York City (Jan. 9–11) and Tampa (Jan. 23–24), the third wave of roster changes looms large once the dust settles in Salt Lake City (Feb. 6–7). Riders ranked below No. 35 in the Unleash The Beast standings, excluding those with remaining injury or performance exemptions, will be relegated to Pendleton Whisky Velocity Tour competition. In their place, the top performers from the Velocity Global standings will earn coveted spots on the sport’s top tour.
Among those under pressure is California’s Andy Guzman. Coming off a UTB career-best 12th-place finish during his 2026 premier series debut in Sacramento, Guzman arrives in Salt Lake City needing another strong showing to stay above the cutline.
This weekend’s invited riders from the Velocity Tour include Greenville, South Carolina, event winner Ezekiel Mitchell and Nampa, Idaho, winner Jaxton Mortensen, who both make their 2026 UTB season debuts. They are joined by additional Velocity standouts in Wyatt Rogers, Kase Hitt and Manoelito de Souza Junior.
Felipe Furlan and Heitor Santos Ferreira qualify for Salt Lake City under exemption status, while veteran Joao Ricardo Vieira enters as the lone alternate in the draw. World No. 1 Dalton Kasel, meanwhile, will doctor out of Salt Lake City after sustaining an injury during his short-round out in Sacramento.
MONSTER ENERGY TEAM CHALLENGE RETURNS
The Monster Energy Team Challenge continues to bring an additional layer of strategy and intensity to select Unleash The Beast events, and Salt Lake City marks the midway point of the METC regular season. At 10 designated UTB stops, PBR Teams compete in two head-to-head games per event, featuring 4-on-4 matchups and 16 total outs.
On Friday night inside Delta Center, the METC slate opens with a Show Me State showdown between the undefeated Kansas City Outlaws (2-0) and Missouri Thunder (2-0). The rivals know each other well and will look to gain crucial separation in the standings.
Game 2 features the veteran-guided Arizona Ridge Riders (0-1) taking on the youthful Oklahoma Wildcatters (0-2), as both clubs chase a much-needed victory to remain in the hunt for the METC Championship Tournament.
Teams will collect wins and losses throughout the 10-event Monster Energy Team Challenge schedule, with the Top 4 teams advancing to the championship bracket. The final four format at each location will feature a single 7 x 7 head-to-head matchup per game (14 total outs), with the winner advancing.
The METC Championship Tournament will unfold during the stretch run of the UTB season at three premier series events: Albuquerque (March 27), Billings (April 17) and the UTB regular-season finale in Tacoma on April 24. There, the remaining teams will battle in elimination-style 7 x 7 games to crown the inaugural Monster Energy Team Challenge champion.
REMATCH RECAP
Round 1 of PBR Salt Lake City presented by Busch Light will feature 10 rematches as riders get another shot at some familiar animal athletes.
Alison dos Santos seeks revenge against Scrappy after being dispatched by the bull in a heartbreaking 7.94 seconds last month in Denver, Colorado.
Bob Mitchell looks to right the ship in a third attempt aboard OptiWize Mercy on Friday after buckoffs in December 2023 and earlier this season in Chicago.
Callum Miller hopes to even the record at one win apiece with Bison after the bull sent him to the dirt in 2.01 seconds in June 2025.
Daylon Swearingen prepares for an instant rematch against Big Country just one week after the bull forced him into a touch at 1.81 seconds during last weekend’s Monster Energy Team Challenge action in Sacramento.
Ezekiel Mitchell readies for a second showdown with Electric Kitty following their initial meeting in April 2024, when he touched the bull at 5.73 seconds.
Hudson Bolton aims to improve to 2–0 all-time against Average Joe after first besting the bull for 87.25 points in Glendale, Arizona, last fall.
Just three weeks after recording an 87.4-point ride aboard Snappy in Denver, Crimber will attempt to stay perfect in the matchup during Friday’s opening round inside Delta Center.
Lucas Divino looks to remain flawless atop Magic Hunter after first posting an 89.75-point ride on the bull in January 2025.
Marco Rizzo seeks revenge against Hard Candy for the first time since their 2024 meeting in Anaheim, California, when the bull bucked him off in 6.42 seconds.
With cuts looming, rankings tightening and rivalries renewed, Salt Lake City’s familiar matchups could prove to be the breaking point—or the breakthrough—of the season.
Photo courtesy of Bull Stock Media