FORT WORTH, Texas – With more than $140,000 in prize money on the line at the richest event in the history of Ultimate Bullfighters (UBF) this coming May in Fort Worth during the PBR World Finals, another four bullfighters earned their spots on Thursday night at the second of 20 events in the UBF X PBR’s Bulls Gone Wild event series.
The four bullfighters advancing to the UBF Major in May are Dakota West (Fort Worth, Texas), Justin Martin (El Paso, Texas), Roper Rich(Eaton, Colorado) and Wagner Miqueline (Zacarias, Sao Paulo).
Miqeuline, nicknamed Pessimo, earned the high-marked fight of the evening at 88 points in Round 2, edging 2021 world title contender Tyler Washburn (White Cloud, Michigan) by a mere two points. At 37 years old, the Brazilian bullfighter also spends time on the PBR’s Velocity Tour as a protection bullfighter and was the eldest statesman in competition.
The second-highest score of the electric Thursday night showdown was a masterful 87-point effort by Colorado’s Roper Rich in Round 4. In December, Rich would wind up runner-up to Finals event champion and World Champion Knox Dunn (Slaughter, Louisiana) at the 2021 UBF World Finals inside Cowtown Coliseum, taking home well north of $10,000 in earnings.
Rich, whose family raises fighting bulls and also saw his brother Ryder Rich in competition on Thursday, edged former United States Marine Ben Walton (Amherst, Virginia) by a point and a half. Ryder missed the cut by a mere point in Round 3, losing out to Justin Martin of El Paso, who put up a fight of 83 points.
What was the first round of the night turned out to be one of the most interesting. Hometown bullfighter Dakota West, an employee of the Fort Worth Zoo, scored 84 points to advance to what will be the most prestigious and highest-paying event he’s ever fought bulls at — all in his hometown. West came to Cowtown Coliseum in December as a rookie and has yet to look back. Stay tuned for more on West and his adventures at the Zoo in the coming months.
These four join the first four that advanced to May’s $140,000 major, including 2020 UBF World Champion Chance Moorman (Lytle, Texas), Alex McWilliams (Paso Robles, California), Colton Orcutt (Kersey, Colorado) and Trenton Ross (Jackson, Wyoming).
The UBF and PBR’s Bulls Gone Wild continue inside Cowtown Coliseum on April 7 and 21 starting at 7:30 p.m. CT.
On April 15 and 16 in Clayton, Georgia, the UBF hosts the first standalone event of the year, the 2nd Annual Tallulah Falls Invitational. In 2021, the event was sold out, and this year will feature two nights of the world’s best freestyle bullfighters.
For tickets, merchandise, standings and more information, visit UltimateBullfighters.com
Official results from the Ultimate Bullfighters’ X PBR Bulls Gone Wild from the Cowtown Coliseum inside the historic Stockyards in Fort Worth, Texas, on March 24, 2022. (Name – Score, Payout)
Round 1
Dakota West – 84, $1,250
Dexton Draper – 80.5, $750
Toby Inman – 80, $500
Round 2
Wagner Miqueline – 88, $1,250
Tyler Washburn – 86, $750
Blake Starrett – 84.5, $500
Round 3
Justin Martin – 83, $1,250
Ryder Rich – 82, $750
Clay Moore – 80.5, $500
Round 4
Roper Rich – 87, $1,250
Ben Walton – 85.5, $750
Tyler Norton – 83.5, $500