LITTLE ROCK, Ark. – Austin Richardson (Dallas, Texas) put up the biggest ride of the season to win  Round 1 of the Kubota PBR Little Rock, the twelfth stop of the 2026 Unleash The Beast (UTB) schedule at Simons Bank Arena on Friday night.

Richardson recorded a tour-season-high 93.30 points aboard Ransom to earn his first round win of the season and the second-best ride score of his career.

“To come here this weekend and get on Ransom, he’s a tough bull to get by, I knew I had a chance to win the round If I did my job,” said Austin Richardson on the Paramount+ telecast.

“I just had to give it everything I got. I had nothing to lose. I got a call on Wednesday to come here, and I just knew if I came here and tried as hard as I could, this could all work out. It’s what we live for, moments like that.”

Inserted into Friday’s lineup as an alternate invite, Richardson earned 29 UTB points to improve from No. 45 to No. 40 ahead of Saturday night’s second round.

Paulo Eduardo Rossetto (Colorado, Brazil) logged a season-high 89 points aboard Blonde Bomber to earn runner-up honors in the opening round.

Rossetto netted 18 UTB points and jumped one spot up the standings from No. 7 to No. 6.

Alan de Souza (Tremembé, Brazil) also notched his best score of the 2026 campaign in Round 1. Going the distance atop Let’s Roll for 87.40 points, he earned 16 UTB points for a fourth-place finish and is now ranked No. 26.

Friday night’s opening round featured one of the regular season’s final installments of the Monster Energy Team Challenge (METC), an extension of the PBR Teams league that brings head-to-head, team vs. team bull riding games to the sport’s elite individual tour.

The (3-1) Florida Freedom defeated the (1-3) New York Mavericks 86.90-85.25 during the first game of 4-on-4 action, eliminating the Mavericks from final four Championship  contention while keeping their odds of securing a playoff spot alive.

Thiago Salgado (Navirai, Brazil) bested Sava for 86.90 points as the lone man to convert for the Freedom, which proved to be the difference-making effort in the win.

Bob Mitchell (Steelville, Missouri) rode Shazam for 85.25 points during the opening out of Game 1, but his conversion was New York’s only qualified ride of the night.

In the second game of 4-on-4 action, the (2-1) Kansas City Outlaws defeated (3-1) Austin Gamblers two scores to none, 173.05-0.

Koltin Hevalow (McAlester, Oklahoma) took advantage of a re-ride opportunity to get the Outlaws on the board first, scored 85.55 points atop Skippy.

But it was 2024 World Champion Cassio Dias (São F. de Sales, Brazil) who provided the game’s grandest ride. Matching Doc Majestic’s every move, Dias recorded 87.50 points during the final out of the night to keep the Outlaws in the METC title hunt.

The 8-second dance earned Dias third-place honors and 17 UTB points

No. 1 Sage Steele Kimzey (Strong City, Oklahoma) bucked off Frustrated Bulldog in 5.67 seconds but in the UTB standings remains 16 points ahead of No. 2 John Crimber, who also bucked off Friday night.

As a result of Friday’s games, the (4-0) Missouri Thunder secured the No. 1 seed for the first-ever METC Championship tournament, with the final three seeds to be determined March 13 in Indianapolis.

The Austin Gamblers, Florida Freedom, Kansas City Outlaws and Nashville Stampede each remain eligible for playoff contention entering the final weekend of regular season of 4-on-4 competition.

Action for the Kubota PBR Little Rock will continue with Round 2 immediately followed by the championship round on Saturday, March 7, at 6:45 p.m. CT, with the event’s coverage set to begin on Paramount+ at 7 p.m. CT.

Unleash The Beast – Kubota PBR Little Rock
Simmons Bank Arena – Little Rock, Arkansas
Event Leaders (Round 1-Round 2-Round 3-Event Aggregate-Event Points)
1. Austin Richardson, 93.3-0-0-93.30-29 Points.

2. Paulo Eduardo Rossetto, 89-0-0-89.00-18 Points.

3. Cassio Dias, 87.5-0-0-87.50-17 Points.

4. Alan de Souza, 87.4-0-0-87.40-16 Points.

5. Thiago Salgado, 86.9-0-0-86.90-15 Points.

6. Cort McFadden, 86.85-0-0-86.85-14 Points.

7. Keyshawn Whitehorse, 86.5-0-0-86.50-13 Points.

8. Ezekiel Mitchell, 86.05-0-0-86.05-12 Points.

9. Claudio Montanha Jr., 85.9-0-0-85.90-11 Points.

10. Jose Vitor Leme, 85.75-0-0-85.75-10 Points.

11. Koltin Hevalow, 85.55-0-0-85.55-9 Points.

12. Bob Mitchell, 85.25-0-0-85.25-8 Points.

13. Kase Hitt, 84.4-0-0-84.40-8 Points.

Sage Steele Kimzey, 0-0-0-0.00

Dalton Kasel, 0-0-0-0.00

John Crimber, 0-0-0-0.00

Leandro Zampollo, 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

Kaiden Loud, 0-0-0-0.00

Marco Rizzo, 0-0-0-0.00

Andrew Alvidrez, 0-0-0-0.00

Callum Miller, 0-0-0-0.00

Maverick Smith, 0-0-0-0.00

Kaique Pacheco, 0-0-0-0.00

Eduardo Aparecido, 0-0-0-0.00

Luciano De Castro, 0-0-0-0.00

Afonso Quintino, 0-0-0-0.00

Felipe Furlan, 0-0-0-0.00

Daniel Keeping, 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

Trace Redd, 0-0-0-0.00

Bruno Carvalho, 0-0-0-0.00

Andy Guzman, 0-0-0-0.00

Wyatt Rogers, 0-0-0-0.00

Elijah Jennings, 0-0-0-0.00

Carlos Garcia, 0-0-0-0.00

Eric Novoa, 0-0-0-0.00

Natanael Serra Aires, 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, 10, 2, 3, 500.00, $121,904.29

2. John Crimber, 12, 1, 3, 484.00, $93,633.33

3. Dalton Kasel, 11, 2, 4, 435.50, $120,598.33

4. Clay Guiton, 8, 0, 4, 409.50, $89,715.48

5. Leandro Zampollo, 11, 0, 4, 383.50, $77,262.62

6. Paulo Eduardo Rossetto, 12, 1, 4, 376.00, $86,055.00

7. Alex Cerqueira, 12, 0, 3, 372.50, $71,923.33

8. Julio Cesar Marques, 11, 0, 3, 332.00, $67,955.48

9. Cassio Dias, 12, 1, 1, 325.00, $58,507.14

10. Brady Fielder, 12, 1, 2, 310.00, $76,250.00

11. Kaiden Loud, 12, 0, 3, 309.00, $52,113.33

12. Cort McFadden, 9, 0, 2, 305.00, $36,780.48

13. Marco Rizzo, 12, 1, 2, 289.00, $83,590.00

14. Andrew Alvidrez, 12, 1, 1, 229.00, $59,883.33

15. Koltin Hevalow, 12, 0, 1, 222.50, $36,583.33

16. Jess Lockwood, 5, 1, 1, 215.00, $65,075.00

17. Callum Miller, 11, 0, 2, 209.00, $24,197.14

18. Thiago Salgado, 10, 0, 0, 179.00, $25,250.00

19. Maverick Smith, 11, 0, 1, 167.50, $23,675.00

20. Bob Mitchell, 9, 0, 1, 166.50, $26,940.00

21. Kaique Pacheco, 12, 0, 1, 162.50, $15,375.00

22. Keyshawn Whitehorse, 12, 0, 0, 162.00, $11,900.00

23. Bruno Carvalho, 7, 0, 0, 158.50, $4,500.00

24. Claudio Montanha Jr., 12, 0, 1, 150.00, $16,457.14

25. Eduardo Aparecido, 12, 0, 1, 141.00, $27,940.00

26. Alan de Souza, 11, 0, 0, 140.00, $10,450.00

27. Luciano De Castro, 10, 0, 1, 129.00, $18,307.14

28. Afonso Quintino, 12, 0, 0, 127.00, $10,307.14

29. Felipe Furlan, 7, 0, 2, 120.00, $24,197.14

30. Daylon Swearingen, 9, 0, 0, 116.50, $15,200.00

31. Daniel Keeping, 11, 0, 0, 115.50, $16,200.00

32. Lucas Divino, 7, 0, 1, 114.00, $11,650.00

33. Jose Vitor Leme, 7, 0, 0, 110.50, $15,650.00

34. Kade Madsen, 5, 0, 0, 106.00, $3,150.00

35. Manoelito de Souza Junior, 7, 0, 1, 102.00, $16,550.00

36. Kase Hitt, 9, 0, 1, 87.50, $8,632.14

37. Hudson Bolton, 7, 0, 0, 77.00, $9,250.00

38. Mauricio Gulla Moreira, 12, 0, 0, 74.00, $9,450.00

39. Alison dos Santos, 7, 0, 0, 65.00, $4,600.00

40. Austin Richardson, 5, 0, 0, 61.50, $4,425.00

41. João Ricardo Vieira, 9, 0, 0, 60.00, $3,800.00

42. Trace Redd, 2, 0, 1, 53.00, $9,550.00

43. Cleber Henrique Marques, 9, 0, 0, 38.50, $7,933.33

44. Wyatt Rogers, 8, 0, 0, 36.00, $2,150.00

45. Andy Guzman, 7, 0, 0, 33.00, $3,300.00

Monster Energy Team Challenge Games

Game 1 — Little Rock — March 6, 2026

Team	1	2	3	4	F
New York Mavericks	85.25	0	0	0	85.25
Florida Freedom	86.90	0	0	0	86.90

*Denotes a RR attempt.

^Denotes a declined RR.

OUTS

New York Mavericks — Bob Mitchell rode Shazam for 85.25 points; Julio Cesar Marques bucked off Freightliner Fever in 4.18 seconds; Leandro Zampollo bucked off El Patron in 3.66 seconds; Marco Rizzo bucked off Sour Patch in 5.13 seconds

Florida Freedom — Thiago Salgado rode Sava for 86.90 points; Alex Cerqueira bucked off Simple Man in 3.62 seconds; Joao Ricardo Vieiera bucked off Level Up in 2.16 seconds; John Crimber touched Jailor at 2.38 seconds

New York Mavericks 1-for-4 (85.25 points)

Florida Freedom 1-for-4 (86.90 points)

High Score: Thiago Salgado 86.90 points on Sava

Game 2 — Little Rock — March 6, 2026

Team	1	2	3	4	F
Austin Gamblers	0	0*	0	0	0
Kansas City Outlaws	85.55*	0	0	87.50	173.05

*Denotes a RR attempt.

^Denotes a declined RR.

OUTS

Austin Gamblers — Sage Steele Kimzey bucked off Frustrated Bulldog in 5.67 seconds; Kaique Pacheco bucked off I’m a Hostage in 5.14 seconds; Callum Miller bucked off Ridin’ Dirty in 4.08 seconds; Dalton Kasel bucked off Wicked Intentions in 2.57 seconds

Kansas City Outlaws —  Koltin Hevalow rode Skippy for 85.55 points; Eric Novoa bucked off Hurricane in 4.62 seconds; Natanael Serra Aires bucked off The Player in 7.42 seconds; Cassio Dias roe Doc Majestic for 87.50 points

Austin Gamblers

0-for-4 (0 points)

Kansas City Outlaws

2-for-4 (173.05 points)

High Score: Cassio Dias 87.50 points on Doc Majestic

Photo courtesy of Bull Stock Media