BRIDGEPORT, Conn. – Professional Bull Riders’ (PBR) Unleash The Beast (UTB) bucked into Bridgeport for the first time to wow a spirited sold-out Total Mortgage Arena as Cort McFadden and Thiago Salgado tied for the first-round win with 88-point rides each Friday night.
Salgado (Navirai, Brazil) put up the first 88-point ride aboard Heavy Load to hold the round lead for most of the night after captivating the crowd for the full eight seconds. Salgado resides at the No. 17 position in the standings after Friday night.
McFadden (Novice, Texas) competed for the Oklahoma Wildcatters (1-3), helping the squad to a 252.10-82.60 victory over the New York Mavericks (1-2) with his 88-point outing on Black Eyes. McFadden entered Connecticut No. 12 in the standings and holds steady in the position.
McFadden has his eyes set on taking home his first Unleash The Beast event win while Salgado seeks his second premier series buckle while in Bridgeport.
Paulo Eduardo Rossetto (Colorado, Brazil) earned the third-highest score of the evening with an 87.30-point ride on Fury that lifted the Missouri Thunder over the Texas Rattlers, 87.30-0. With the win, the Thunder clinched a playoff spot in the Monster Energy Tournament Challenge playoffs with a 4-0 record. Rossetto holds fast to his spot at fifth in the UTB standings.
Kaique Pacheco, a native of Itatiba, Brazil and 2018 PBR World Champion, scored 85.80 points against Mr. Man in the first out of the night. Ranked at No. 24 in the standings, Pacheco is gunning for his first event win since the 2023 campaign in Milwaukee.
Finishing fifth after the opening round, Callum Miller of Warwick, Australia tallied 85.55 points aboard Sweet Action in the fourth section. Miller owns the No. 15 slot in the standings, hoping to crack the Top 10 by the end of the weekend.
Even with a shakeup at the top of the leaderboard in Bridgeport, the Top five in the standings remained the same with Sage Steele Kimzey owning the top slot, followed by John Crimber, who bucked off, Dalton Kasel, who scored 85.45 points on Soul Man to finish the round sixth, Clay Guiton, who is sidelined with an injury, and Rossetto respectively.
With his third-place round finish, World No. 3 Kasel, who entered the event 78 points behind sidelined Kimzey, narrowed that margin to 64.5 points.
Championship Saturday begins at 7:45 p.m. ET at Total Mortgage Arena with all the action available on Paramount+.
Unleash The Beast – PBR Bridgeport
Total Mortgage Arena – Bridgeport, Connecticut
Event Leaders (Round 1-Round 2-Round 3-Event Aggregate-Event Points)
1. Cort McFadden, 88-0-0-88.00-23 Points.
(tie). Thiago Salgado, 88-0-0-88.00-23 Points.
3. Paulo Eduardo Rossetto, 87.3-0-0-87.30-17 Points.
4. Kaique Pacheco, 85.8-0-0-85.80-16 Points.
5. Callum Miller, 85.55-0-0-85.55-15 Points.
6. Dalton Kasel, 85.45-0-0-85.45-13.5 Points.
(tie). Austin Richardson, 85.45-0-0-85.45-13.5 Points.
8. Eduardo Aparecido, 85.4-0-0-85.40-12 Points.
9. Andy Guzman, 85.1-0-0-85.10-11 Points.
10. Andrew Alvidrez, 84.3-0-0-84.30-10 Points.
11. JaCauy Hale, 82.95-0-0-82.95-9 Points.
12. Leandro Zampollo, 82.6-0-0-82.60-8 Points.
13. Alan de Souza, 82.2-0-0-82.20-8 Points.
14. Trace Redd, 81.15-0-0-81.15-8 Points.
15. Bruno Carvalho, 75.5-0-0-75.50
John Crimber, 0-0-0-0.00
Alex Cerqueira, 0-0-0-0.00
Julio Cesar Marques, 0-0-0-0.00
Brady Fielder, 0-0-0-0.00
Marco Rizzo, 0-0-0-0.00
Kaiden Loud, 0-0-0-0.00
Koltin Hevalow, 0-0-0-0.00
Cassio Dias, 0-0-0-0.00
Bob Mitchell, 0-0-0-0.00
Maverick Smith, 0-0-0-0.00
Keyshawn Whitehorse, 0-0-0-0.00
Claudio Montanha Jr., 0-0-0-0.00
Luciano De Castro, 0-0-0-0.00
Felipe Furlan, 0-0-0-0.00
Daylon Swearingen, 0-0-0-0.00
Daniel Keeping, 0-0-0-0.00
Afonso Quintino, 0-0-0-0.00
Manoelito de Souza Junior, 0-0-0-0.00
Mauricio Gulla Moreira, 0-0-0-0.00
João Ricardo Vieira, 0-0-0-0.00
Alison dos Santos, 0-0-0-0.00
Wyatt Rogers, 0-0-0-0.00
Ezekiel Mitchell, 0-0-0-0.00
Elijah Jennings, 0-0-0-0.00
Macaulie Leather, 0-0-0-0.00
2026 Professional Bull Riders Unleash The Beast Standings
(Place, Rider, Events, Wins, Top 5's, Points, Total Winnings)
1. Sage Steele Kimzey, 9, 2, 3, 500.00, $121,904.29
2. John Crimber, 11, 1, 3, 476.00, $93,183.33
3. Dalton Kasel, 10, 2, 4, 435.50, $119,823.33
4. Clay Guiton, 8, 0, 4, 409.50, $89,715.48
5. Paulo Eduardo Rossetto, 11, 1, 4, 358.00, $83,305.00
6. Alex Cerqueira, 11, 0, 3, 353.50, $68,673.33
7. Julio Cesar Marques, 10, 0, 3, 320.00, $67,305.48
8. Leandro Zampollo, 10, 0, 3, 296.50, $50,429.29
9. Brady Fielder, 11, 1, 2, 296.00, $75,400.00
10. Cassio Dias, 11, 1, 1, 291.00, $55,957.14
11. Marco Rizzo, 11, 1, 2, 289.00, $83,340.00
12. Cort McFadden, 8, 0, 2, 286.50, $31,280.48
13. Kaiden Loud, 11, 0, 2, 238.00, $35,680.00
14. Jess Lockwood, 5, 1, 1, 215.00, $65,075.00
15. Callum Miller, 10, 0, 2, 209.00, $23,147.14
16. Koltin Hevalow, 11, 0, 1, 205.50, $36,133.33
17. Thiago Salgado, 9, 0, 0, 159.50, $19,750.00
18. Bob Mitchell, 8, 0, 1, 158.50, $26,690.00
19. Maverick Smith, 10, 0, 1, 154.50, $22,975.00
20. Bruno Carvalho, 6, 0, 0, 144.50, $1,850.00
21. Keyshawn Whitehorse, 11, 0, 0, 141.00, $11,450.00
21. Eduardo Aparecido, 11, 0, 1, 141.00, $27,290.00
23. Claudio Montanha Jr., 11, 0, 1, 139.00, $16,207.14
24. Kaique Pacheco, 11, 0, 0, 131.50, $8,375.00
25. Luciano De Castro, 9, 0, 1, 129.00, $18,057.14
26. Alan de Souza, 10, 0, 0, 124.00, $10,000.00
27. Andrew Alvidrez, 11, 0, 0, 120.00, $15,050.00
27. Felipe Furlan, 6, 0, 2, 120.00, $23,947.14
29. Daylon Swearingen, 9, 0, 0, 116.50, $14,950.00
30. Daniel Keeping, 10, 0, 0, 115.50, $15,950.00
31. Lucas Divino, 7, 0, 1, 114.00, $11,650.00
32. Afonso Quintino, 11, 0, 0, 112.00, $8,757.14
33. Kade Madsen, 5, 0, 0, 106.00, $3,150.00
34. Manoelito de Souza Junior, 6, 0, 1, 102.00, $16,300.00
35. Jose Vitor Leme, 6, 0, 0, 100.50, $15,650.00
36. Hudson Bolton, 7, 0, 0, 77.00, $9,250.00
37. Mauricio Gulla Moreira, 11, 0, 0, 74.00, $9,200.00
38. Kase Hitt, 7, 0, 1, 70.50, $8,182.14
39. Alison dos Santos, 7, 0, 0, 65.00, $4,350.00
40. João Ricardo Vieira, 8, 0, 0, 52.00, $3,350.00
41. Cleber Henrique Marques, 9, 0, 0, 38.50, $7,933.33
42. Wyatt Rogers, 7, 0, 0, 36.00, $1,900.00
43. Andy Guzman, 6, 0, 0, 33.00, $2,850.00
44. Heitor Santos Ferreira, 4, 0, 0, 29.50, $3,500.00
45. Alex Junior da Silva, 3, 0, 0, 29.00, $1,150.00
Monster Energy Team Challenge Games
Game 1 — Bridgeport — February 27, 2026
|
Team |
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
F |
|
Missouri Thunder |
87.30 |
0/0* |
0 |
0 |
87.30 |
|
Texas Rattlers |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
*Denotes a RR attempt.
^Denotes a declined RR.
OUTS
Missouri Thunder — Paulo Eduardo Rossetto rode Fury for 87.30 points; Macaulie Leather bucked off Show Me the Money in 2.80 seconds, Re-ride awarded and accepted; Felipe Furlan bucked off Slick Rick in 2.32 seconds; Maverick Smith bucked off War Wagon in 5.72 seconds; Macaulie Leather bucked off Let Him Fly in 2.06 seconds (Re-Ride)
Texas Rattlers — Claudio Montanha Jr. bucked off Amigo in 3.71 seconds; Brady Fielder bucked off Intoxicated in 4.33 seconds; Ezekiel Mitchell bucked off Wingnut in 7.83 seconds; Daniel Keeping bucked off Dirty Deeds in 4.89 seconds
Missouri Thunder
1-for-4 (87.30 points)
Re-Rides: Macaulie Leather bucked off Show Me the Money in 2.80 seconds, Re-ride awarded and accepted; Macaulie Leather bucked off Let Him Fly in 2.06 seconds (Re-Ride)
Texas Rattlers
0-for-4 (points)
High Score: Paulo Eduardo Rossetto 87.30 points on Fury
Game 2 — Bridgeport — February 27, 2026
|
Team |
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
F |
|
Oklahoma Wildcatters |
88.00 |
0/0* |
81.15 |
82.95 |
252.10 |
|
New York Mavericks |
0 |
82.60 |
0 |
0 |
82.60 |
*Denotes a RR attempt.
^Denotes a declined RR.
OUTS
Oklahoma Wildcatters — Cort McFadden rode Black Eyes for 88.00 points; Kase Hitt bucked off Tweaker in 6.75 seconds, Re-Ride awarded and accepted; Trace Redd rode Lug Nut for 81.15 points; JaCauy Hale rode Project X for 82.95 points; Andy Guzman subbed in for Kase Hitt and bucked off I’ll Make Ya Famous in 7.78 seconds (Re-Ride)
New York Mavericks — Bob Mitchell bucked off Off The Rails in 6.83 seconds; Leandro Zampollo rode Red Velvet for 82.60 points; Julio Cesar Marques bucked off Old Testament in 4.07 seconds; Marco Rizzo bucked off Pneu-Dart’s Chief Wahoo in 4.21 seconds
Oklahoma Wildcatters
3-for-4 (252.10 points)
Re-Rides: Kase Hitt bucked off Tweaker in 6.75 seconds, Re-Ride awarded and accepted; Andy Guzman subbed in for Kase Hitt and bucked off I’ll Make Ya Famous in 7.78 seconds (Re-Ride)
New York Mavericks
1-for-4 (82.60 points)
High Score: Cort McFadden 88.00 points on Black Eyes
Photo courtesy of Bull Stock Media