2022 World Champion Daylon Swearingen had not won an Unleash The Beast event since that championship season. His 3-for-3, 266.40-point performance to win the season’s lone Major inside Doak Campbell Stadium, the home of the Florida State football team, ended that long drought over the weekend.

It has, frankly, been tough sledding for Swearingen over the last four years. After riding 26 bulls in 2022, he covered only 34 over the next three UTB seasons due to injuries and inconsistency. Heck, even this season has been a struggle at times. In fact, he had only one qualified ride in the previous three UTB events before arriving in Tallahassee.

But it only takes one, as they say. And when you have Daylon’s talent, that can quickly turn into two and three. He got the weekend started with 88.20 points on Turning Point. Then he rode Cowboy Playboy for 87.35 to slot into second in the Championship Round.

This win was well-earned. With Maverick Smith going 3-for-3 in front of him, Swearingen needed 90.25 to take the lead as the second-to-last cowboy out. He was 90.85 on Utz Bestex Smokestack to grab the lead, and 30 seconds later John Crimber bucked off to secure Swearingen the victory.

The win launched him from No. 30 to No. 15 in the world thanks to a whopping 188 UTB points. Swearingen had just 116.5 entering the weekend.

Swearingen knows he has not been at his best lately, but vowed that would change.

“I have been working really hard to get back to where I used to be,” he said after his win. “I think in the short term, God has a plan, and it’s all going to work out.”

John Crimber Re-Takes No. 1 Spot From Sage Kimzey

With far more Unleash The Beast points available than a regular PBR event, we knew this weekend’s Major in Tallahassee could bring a big shake-up to the leaderboard.

John Crimber did just that at the very top.

World No. 1 Sage Kimzey won Little Rock the weekend prior, but with a third-place finish, John Crimber did all he could to keep pace. Still, entering this weekend’s event, Kimzey led by 83 points—the widest margin between No. 1 and No. 2 this season.

With a second consecutive third-place finish, this one worth 120 UTB points, Crimber quickly flipped the script. He now leads Kimzey by 27 points after being the top rider on two bulls.

Crimber kicked things off with 88.80 points to win Round 1 and took the lead into the Championship Round after 88.55 for second in Round 2. He bucked off Sour Patch with an opportunity to win the event, but the No. 1 spot in the world standings is a fine consolation prize.

In his last seven events, Crimber has four Top 3 finishes and five Championship Round appearances. His last four qualified rides have all been 87.75 or better. The phenom is peaking at the right time.

Maverick Smith Proves He Belongs

21-year-old rookie Maverick Smith did not make the Championship Round in his first seven UTB events of 2026. He has now made three of the last four, including three top-six finishes and a runner-up at the season’s lone Major at Florida State.

In just five weeks, Smith has earned 257 UTB points and gone from looking like he wasn’t ready for this level of competition to contending for Rookie of the Year. He is now just six points behind Marco Rizzo, 323 to 317.

Tallahassee provided a series of “bests” for the Missouri native. Smith covered all three bulls for the first time in his career and finished the job with 90.95 on Lights Out in the Championship Round. That is the most points he’s ever ridden for in his PBR career, and it earned him his first round win.

His spring surge has taken him from No. 31 to No. 14 in the world standings.

Heading In The Right Direction

Paulo Eduardo Rossetto finished fifth for the second straight weekend and has accumulated 107 UTB Points between Little Rock and Tallahassee to move to No. 4 in the World Standings.

Cort McFadden has made five straight Championship Rounds and finished fifth at Florida State. He is now No. 8 in the World.

Lucas Divino finished eighth in Tallahassee at his first UTB event since Salt Lake City in the first weekend of February.

Trace Redd has competed at just three UTB events this season, but made two Championship Rounds, taking 10th in Tallahassee and fifth in Bridgeport. Both events earned him 30+ UTB Points to put him 37th in the World despite being just 3-for-8 this year.

Stats To Know

Felipe Furlan went 2-for-3 to claim fourth and go from No. 29 to No. 22 in the World Standings. In his last six UTB events, he has either failed to make a qualified ride or finished in the Top 5, doing both three times.

Alex Cerqueira and Sage Kimzey became the first cowboys to reach 20 qualified rides this season.

Brady Fielder extended his Championship Round streak to six, the best on Tour.

Maverick Smith’s 149 UTB Points for second at Florida State was more than the last three UTB winners earned.

Velocity Tour Update

Abilene native Jadon Hayes got his first career PBR victory with a perfect 2-for-2 showing in Bakersfield, California. He was third in Round 1 with an 85.4-point ride and second in the Championship with an 88.1 to edge out Eric Novoa by 0.3 points on Aggregate.

Hayes’ win was, frankly, surprising. Not only was it first career PBR event win at any level, but he entered the weekend just 3-for-32 in his entire career. In one day, he nearly doubled the amount of qualified rides in his professional career.

What’s Next

Before March Madness descends on Indianapolis for the Final Four, the madness will come in bull form next weekend as the Unleash the Beast Tour returns to Gainbridge Fieldhouse for the fifth consecutive season.

A year ago, Andrew Alvidrez got the win thanks to a 92.50-point ride in the Championship Round to cap a 3-for-3 performance.