From a two-night sellout in Salt Lake City to a doubleheader weekend on the Pendleton Whisky Velocity Tour, the PBR calendar kept rolling. While the Unleash The Beast tour delivered a Round 1 shakeup and a standings-changing event win in Utah, the Velocity Tour spotlighted two rising storylines — an 18-year-old collecting buckles and a Brazilian born staying perfect when it mattered most.
On the Unleash The Beast…
Salt Lake City delivered from start to finish inside Delta Center, where late-round fireworks on Friday set up a pressure-cooker Saturday and the world title race tightened in real time.
Friday night belonged to Alex Cerqueira, who surged late to win Round 1 with an 88.90-point ride on Stryker. Clay Guiton kept his heater rolling, extending his ride streak to seven with an 87.60-point score on Uncle Doc, staying firmly in the mix with Dalton Kasel sidelined due to injury.
Saturday saw Paulo Eduardo Rossetto take over. The Brazilian launched an 88.90-point strike on Scrappy to jump to the top of the leaderboard, then sealed the event title with an 87.75-point ride on Walk Hard — the same bull he covered during Friday’s Monster Energy Team Challenge. Rossetto earned 126 UTB points for the win and surged from No. 10 to No. 4 in the world standings.
Behind him, John Crimber delivered one of the biggest moves of the season. The 20-year-old earned his first round win of 2026 with a 90-point re-ride on Sucker Pop, then overtook Kasel atop the UTB standings after finishing runner-up. Brady Fielder finished fourth following a Round 2 conversion on Bison to pair with his opening-night score on Hookie Monster, while Maverick Smith logged his first championship-round qualified ride on The Paint to cap a career-best fifth-place finish.
Injury update...
Saturday night in Salt Lake City came to an abrupt pause during the second round of competition when Clay Guiton suffered a severe wreck aboard Lieutenant Dan. Guiton was knocked unconscious and experienced a seizure on the arena dirt.
As the arena fell silent, Marco Rizzo never left Guiton’s side while riders across the chutes bowed their heads in prayer. Medical personnel responded immediately, and Guiton was transported to a local hospital for evaluation, with Rizzo in tow. He later underwent a CT scan, is doing well, remains in good spirits, and will follow up with a neurologist this week.
Monster Energy Team Challenge…
Salt Lake City also hosted another chapter of Monster Energy Team Challenge action, bringing team-versus-team pressure to the elite tour.
In Game 1, Paulo Eduardo Rossetto logged the lone conversion, riding Walk Hard to lift the Missouri Thunder to an 87.75-0 win over the Kansas City Outlaws. The victory kept Missouri undefeated and atop the Monster Energy Team Challenge standings. Game 2 ended scoreless between the Arizona Ridge Riders and Oklahoma Wildcatters, with both teams shut out in a 0-0 decision.
On the PBR Pendleton Whisky Velocity Tour…
In Grand Forks, North Dakota, Caic Cassio Carvalho went a perfect 3-for-3 to claim his first Pendleton Whisky Velocity Tour win of the season. The Brazilian stayed flawless aboard Kephart’s Solomon, Koo Koo and Let’s Roll, earning 139 Velocity Global points and climbing to No. 29 in the standings. Macaulie Leather finished second after rebounding with rides on Cash On Black and Never Forget, while Dener Barbosa placed third behind qualified rides on Toasted and Pearl Necklace.
In Hampton, Virginia, Elijah Jennings continued his red-hot stretch. The 18-year-old was the only rider to cover two bulls on the weekend, riding Poseidon for a weekend-best 87.1 points before adding a second score on Hardy to secure the win. Jennings earned 116 Global Velocity points for the event, plus an additional 33 points on his double-entry ride aboard Sounds Like a Plan, rocketing to No. 2 in the PWVT standings with 400 total points — now 54 behind No. 1 Nick Tetz. Joao Goncalves finished second with an 86.10-point ride on Socks in a Box, while João Paulo Fernandes placed third after covering Davis Rodeo.
Through the lens with BullStockMedia
Check out the best photos from Salt Lake City.
Looking ahead
The Unleash The Beast tour heads to Pittsburgh next for U.S. Border Patrol PBR Pittsburgh presented by Ariat (Feb. 13–14), where the title race tightens with John Crimber now wearing the No. 1 target.
On the Pendleton Whisky Velocity Tour, the schedule doubles up Feb. 13–14 with Cooper Tires PBR Lexington at Rupp Arena in Lexington, Kentucky, and Busch Light PBR Everett at Angel Of The Winds Arena in Everett, Washington, as riders chase critical points, elite tour berths and spots at the PBR World Finals.
The weekend slate also includes a trio of special events at Cowtown Coliseum in Fort Worth, Texas, beginning Saturday, Feb. 14, with the Bill Pickett Invitational Rodeo Matinee, followed by the Bill Pickett Invitational Rodeo later in the evening. Action continues Sunday, Feb. 15, with Ultimate Bullfighters: Bull Games, bringing additional Western sports action to Texas.
All Unleash The Beast events stream live on Paramount+, while Velocity Tour action is available on RidePass and the PBR App.
Photo courtesy of Bull Stock Media