With $140,000 available to earn this weekend for the top bullfighters in the world, everything is on the line. Photo: Aaron Mercer by Andre Silva/ PhotoSilva.com
FORT WORTH, Texas — The richest bullfight ever is just one day away. 18 bullfighters qualified through Wildcard Rounds and UBF and PBR Bulls Gone Wild events at Cowtown Coliseum this spring.
One man, who has stood at the top of another bullfighting organization on two separate occasions, is ready to make his mark in UBF.
That man?
Calgary, Alberta’s Aaron Mercer.
With a qualification from the April 21st Bulls Gone Wild event and a new knee, Mercer is back in a big way.
“That was my first one back since my knee surgery, since June 25, 2021,” Mercer said. “I broke my tibia plateau and split my shin. I got thrown into a set of metal chutes in Reno. I went straight into it with my leg and jammed my femur. They had to bone graph a bunch of shit onto my knee and I’ve got a whole new metal bracket on the outside of my right knee.”
For a bullfighter during the pandemic, it wasn’t the easiest of times. Neither was the physical therapy needed to return to competition.
“I came home and I healed up for six weeks and then I just started physio,” Mercer said. “I kept on doing physio and I’m still doing it and I’m healthy, but now it’s pretty much just building on what I fixed. Just maintaining what I was able to do with my knee.
“Physio wasn’t the easiest, the hardest part was to get my leg to full extension, it was probably four months before it was completely straight.”
As most know in western sports, doctors unfamiliar with rodeo often suggest career changes earlier than appreciated.
“When I had my surgery, the doctor said I would probably never fight again,” Mercer said. “But I feel like it’s almost their job to say: ‘You might want to think about a different career at this point’
“Being a hard head, I went to my physiotherapist, my sports therapist and they said no, we’re going to get you back to 100%. I think I’m even better than 100% at this point. I feel like I have done the work, put it in. I’ve fought six bulls since I’ve been back, and it’s just been getting better and better.”
Since he’s been back, things have been going well.
“I’ve placed at every bull fight that I have been to,” Mercer said. “I ended up with a second-place finish in Swainsboro, Georgia half a point behind Chance Moorman which, if I was going to lose to anybody, it would be that guy.”
Having spent most of his bullfighting career in other competitions, the large UBF purses piqued the Canadian athlete’s interest.
“I can’t make a living as a freestyle bullfighter just sticking to one organization,” Mercer said. “We’re at the place in our business now, in bullfighting, that we can be choosy about where we go. There’s enough events going around where you can make really good money so limiting yourself to one organization to me doesn’t make sense.
“It was a bit of a fight for a while but they definitely came around, I gave an ultimatum, I said you can either allow me to represent you inside the arena or you can not, either way I am making this decision.”
With the top check being worth $50,000 and $140,000 in total prize money, the Fort Worth Freestyle will award the most money ever at a single freestyle bullfight, ever.
“Every time I fight another bull I feel better and better about it, my confidence is through the roof, I feel great, I feel healthy, and for $50,000 it’s going to be a good show,” Mercer said.
With that much money up to win, there may be a new move or two in the works as well.
“I do have a couple in my arsenal that I haven’t pulled out yet,” Mercer explained. “But, I am going to leave that to you guys and let your brains spin a little bit, I want it to be a surprise.”
With the ability to earn at UBF events, Mercer is already looking at the No. 1 spot, currently ranked No. 6.
“We’ve got the best guys going right now and Chance Moorman is the guy I’m chasing. I expect to see him and I in the short round battling it out,” Mercer said.
“He’s really far ahead right now and I’m finally back in action so this is when the battle starts.”
$20,000 has already been paid out the first weekend in the wildcard rounds. All 18 qualifiers will fight one bull, with the top 12 advancing to Saturday night. Subsequently, after a first round of head-to-head matches, the top six will fight one more bull for the remaining share of the $140,000 prize.
On the final Saturday night, $100,000 will be paid out to the top six bullfighters in the richest night in freestyle bullfighting history with $50,000 doled out for first place; $25,000 for second and $10,000 for third with fourth to sixth also paying over $3,000 each.
Qualifiers – UBF Fort Worth Freestyle Semi-Final Rounds – May 20th and 21st
May – 20that Will Rogers Tent. May 21stat 10:30pm at Cowtown Coliseum
- Colton Orcutt – Kersey, CO
- Alex McWilliams – Paso Robles, CA
- Trenton Ross – Jackson Hole, WY
- Chance Moorman – Lytle, TX
- Dakota West – Weatherford, TX.Wagner Miqueline – Zacarias, Sao Paulo
- Justin Martin – El Paso, TX
- Roper Rich – Eaton, CO]
- Tyler Mansell – Caldwell, ID
- Clay Moore – Belen, NM
- Noah Krepps – Jasper, AR
- Aaron Mercer – Calgary, Alberta
- Trent King – Mineral Wells, TX
- Dekevis Jordan – Madill, OK
- Ely Sharkey – Ainsworth, NE
- Jacorey Golden – Houston, MS, Qualified via Wildcard Round
- Rico Mathis – Madill, OK, Qualified via Wildcard Round
- Dylan Idleman – Hillard, FL, Qualified via Wildcard Round
For tickets, merchandise, standings and more information, visit UltimateBullfighters.com
About Ultimate Bullfighters Inc. (UBF): Founded in 2008 by J.B. Mauney, Luke Kaufman and Chad Ellison; was created over a decade ago to promote the sport of freestyle bullfighting. In the action-packed sport of freestyle bullfighting, a bullfighter competes for 60 seconds against a fighting bull predominantly of Spanish descent in an effort to score points for maneuvers performed during the competition. Unlike traditional bullfighting, the animals are not harmed or killed. Bullfighters are judged solely on their ability to perform dangerous stunts as close to the bull as possible without getting hit. Having paid out over $1,000,000 since formation and over $500,000 in the past two seasons, UBF embarks on a new journey with a historic partnership with both the Professional Bull Riders (PBR) and Fort Worth, Texas including the UBF World Finals and an event series beginning in March 2022. For more, visit UltimateBullfighters.com