BILLINGS, Mont. — In a sport where eight seconds can redefine a season, the margins in the Unleash The Beast standings have never felt tighter. Under the bright lights in Billings—a proving ground that has crowned champions like Jess Lockwood—the stakes were no longer theoretical. They were immediate, measurable, and unforgiving.
With just six remaining rounds in the regular season—beginning with Round 1 last Friday night in Billings and culminating in Round 2 and the championship round on Saturday—the math became brutally simple: survive and advance into the Top 40 bound for Fort Worth, or risk watching the richest weekend in bull riding from the outside looking in.
For those at the top, every point carried the weight of a gold buckle. For those clawing their way up the standings, every qualified ride represented survival.
And in Billings, the pressure didn’t just rise—it arrived.
TOP 3 TAKEAWAYS FROM BILLINGS — APRIL 17, 2026
— 3. DANIEL KEEPING’S MILESTONE UNDERSCORED THE BRUTALITY OF THE GAME —
Daniel Keeping didn’t just make a qualified ride Friday night—he reached a milestone that, in this sport, spoke volumes about perseverance, resilience and grit.
Needing just one ride to hit the mark, Keeping delivered, securing his 100th career qualified ride on the sport’s biggest stage.
On paper, 100 rides might not sound like an overwhelming number. But when those rides come against the rankest bulls in the world, it becomes a testament to just how unforgiving this sport truly is. It’s a milestone built not just on success, but on showing up—week after week—through injuries, setbacks and the grind of a long season.
Keeping’s journey to this moment hasn’t been linear. After enduring a 12-ride buckoff streak earlier this season, he caught fire in Albuquerque with a 90-point ride aboard Rockville, and carried that momentum into Sioux Falls with a season-best 3-for-4 performance.
The milestone wasn’t just a number. It was proof of a rider who refused to back down—who kept grinding until the tide turned.
And now, with his 100th ride behind him, Keeping isn’t just surviving.
He’s building momentum at exactly the right time.
— 2. BRADY FIELDER RESPONDED WHEN IT MATTERED MOST —
Momentum in bull riding is fragile. One missed opportunity can linger—unless a rider has the discipline to reset and respond.
Brady Fielder did exactly that.
After coming up empty the week prior in Sioux Falls—failing to capitalize on a matchup against Ransom that many viewed as a coin flip—Fielder answered in Billings.
He delivered an 88.30-point ride aboard Triple Trouble, with the bull marked 42.80, finishing sixth in Round 1.
On the surface, a sixth-place finish might not command headlines. But context matters.
Those points earned him 14 critical UTB points and moved him into the No. 3 position in the world standings—a significant gain in one of the tightest title races in recent memory.
In this sport, sometimes the animal athlete simply beats you. That was what happened to Fielder the week prior—an off week against the best bulls in the world.
What mattered was the response.
He didn’t dwell. He didn’t hesitate. He showed up—and delivered.
— 1. A SHIFT AT THE TOP: CASSIO DIAS DELIVERED WHEN THE DOOR OPENED —
At the very top of the standings, opportunities don’t come often—but when they do, they have to be taken.
The week prior, John Crimber had been nearly untouchable. But in Billings, that rhythm broke.
He was knocked out of position early, getting set back on his pockets.
The result was costly: no score, no points, and the door cracked open.
Sage Kimzey took advantage, finishing 12th in Round 1 with 87.10 points, earning 8 UTB points.
But the biggest statement of the night belonged to the 2024 PBR World Champion, Cassio Dias.
He climbed aboard Black Eyes and delivered a 90.20-point ride, earning 29 UTB points to win Round 1.
It didn’t just earn points—it shifted momentum.
ROUND 1 RESULTS — BILLINGS, MONTANA (TOP 12)
(Place | Rider | Score | UTB Points)
Cassio Dias — 90.20 — 29
Paulo Eduardo Rossetto — 89.15 — 18
Dalton Kasel — 88.60 — 17
Claudio Montanha Jr. — 88.55 — 16
Jess Lockwood — 88.45 — 15
Brady Fielder — 88.30 — 14
Marco Rizzo — 88.20 — 13
Hudson Bolton — 88.00 — 12
Jose Vitor Leme — 87.70 — 11
Dener Barbosa — 87.60 — 10
Eric Henrique Domingos — 87.20 — 9
Sage Steele Kimzey — 87.10 — 8
CHAMPIONSHIP SATURDAY: SETTING THE STAGE
With Round 1 complete, the focus shifted to Championship Saturday—where the final two outs would define the weekend.
TOP 3 TAKEAWAYS — CHAMPIONSHIP SATURDAY, APRIL 18, 2026
— 3. THE WEEKEND OF 90s: EIGHT ELITE RIDES ACROSS THREE ROUNDS —
If you wanted proof of just how electric the weekend in Billings became, you didn’t have to look any further than the scoreboard in Round 2, and then one of the most exciting Championship rounds of the season.
Jess Lockwood, the Montana native and two-time PBR World Champion (2017, 2019), delivered 91.90 points on Rockville.
John Crimber answered with 90.05 points on Getcha Some.
There were five more 90’s in the short go. The worlds’ top, best paid bull riders stepped up. There’s a reason these guys are choosing to ride in PBR.
It turned out to be a weekend of 90s—eight 90-point rides over a two-day performance and three rounds of competition.
— 2. RANSOM MAKES A STATEMENT: THE HIGHEST-MARKED BULL OF THE SEASON —
Sometimes, even the very best, highest-paid riders in the world run into something they simply can’t overcome.
That’s exactly what happened when the 2024 PBR World Champion, Cassio Dias, picked Ransom.
Dias was bucked off at 4.55 seconds, but the ride itself told a much bigger story than the result.
Ransom was marked 47.85 points—the highest bull score recorded so far this season.
That’s not just a big number—that’s a rank bull showing exactly why he’s one of the best in the world.
With that performance, Ransom vaulted into the No. 2 position in the YETI PBR World Champion Bucking Bull race, trailing only Pegasus.
And on Saturday night, Ransom wasn’t just good.
He was elite.
UPDATED YETI PBR WORLD CHAMPION BUCKING BULL STANDINGS
If you want to see just how tight the race has become among the best bovine athletes in the world, click HERE to take a look at the updated standings heading into the final regular-season stop.
— 1. BRADY FIELDER DELIVERS: A STATEMENT WIN AND A SURGE TO NO. 2 IN THE WORLD —
When the dust settled in Billings, there was no question who owned the weekend.
Brady Fielder delivered when it mattered most.
The Australian climbed aboard one of the late great Gene Owen’s bulls, Nobody, and dominated, posting a 92.40-point ride, with the bull marked 45.35, to seal the victory.
It was the kind of ride that doesn’t just win an event—it shifts the standings.
Fielder entered the weekend ranked No. 4 in the world.
He left Billings sitting at No. 2.
That’s how quickly things can change this time of year.
And if he can carry this kind of momentum into Tacoma this coming weekend, there’s no reason to believe he can’t make a serious run at the gold buckle.
Three outs remain in the regular season.
And if this past weekend proved anything, it’s that Brady Fielder is peaking at exactly the right time.
— HONORABLE MENTION: JOHN CRIMBER ANSWERS THE CALL —
There was another moment in Billings that couldn’t be ignored.
In the Championship Round, with a stacked field and limited spots available, the pressure was as high as it gets this late in the season.
When the opportunity came, John Crimber didn’t hesitate.
He took a reride and made it count, delivering a 93.95-point ride aboard Fire Zone, with the bull marked 45.85.
It is now the highest-marked ride of the season.
At this point in the year, every decision matters.
Every opportunity matters.
And when you get a chance like that, you don’t pass it up—you capitalize.
Crimber did exactly that.
EVENT AGGREGATE — BILLINGS, MONTANA (TOP 5)
Brady Fielder — 265.95 — 124
Bob Mitchell — 264.50 — 93
Hudson Bolton — 261.80 — 74
Luciano De Castro — 259.70 — 55
John Crimber — 184.00 — 65
MISSED THE ACTION?
Click HERE to catch all the results from Billings.
Photo courtesy of Bull Stock Media