When it comes to numbers, the PBR Unleash The Beast’s Iron Cowboy competition knows how to stack ‘em up. Big payout, big points and more big-bad bulls to beat to get that payout and points at the STAPLES Center in Los Angeles. 

Watch the PBR Unleash The Beast’s Iron Cowboy LIVE on FloRodeo, Feb. 22-23.

1 Tough Format

The Iron Cowboy is truly a test of grit for the top bull riders in the world. Unlike other PBR competitions where you are guaranteed to ride in each long ride, the format in LA requires bull riders to make the eight-second whistle on every single bull in order to advance. 

According to PBR.com, round one will see all riders that make the whistle advancing with a minimum of 25 spots going on to round two. If less than 25 competitors ride, draw spots will be filled by current world standings.

From there, there will be up to five grueling rounds of competition, with the last man standing taking home the title. If all riders should buck off in rounds two, three or four, everyone who attempted a ride will move on.

5 Rounds 

The maximum number of rounds competitors will have to battle through in this progressive or ride-or-you’re-out style competition. 

8 Riders Out, 8 Riders In

According to PBR.com, nine riders who have qualified to compete in Los Angeles will have to sit out the event due to various reasons. Guilherme Marchi and Valdiron de Oliveira are off the roster due to retirement, and Australian Lachlan Richardson will miss out because of visa issues. Injury has forced another five cowboys out of the lineup: J.B. Mauney (left leg), Jess Lockwood (broken left collarbone), Fabiano Vieira (right shoulder surgery), Dener Barbosa (right shoulder surgery) and Nathan Burtenshaw (broken collarbone).

With that said, eight other riders will have the chance to earn points at this UTB Major that could be crucial to moving up the standings. Tanner Bryne, Cannon Cravens, Junio Quaresima, Taylor Toves, Sean Willingham, Ezekiel Mitchell, Mason Taylor and Emilio Resende have all received the call up to the event.

22 of February

The action for the PBR Unleash The Beast’s Iron Cowboy competition kicks off on Feb. 22 with all riders competing in round one, and only those able to make the eight second whistle competing in round two. 

Click HERE to sign up for a FloRodeo subscription to watch this, and all of the other great events on the schedule this year. 

40 Riders

There will be 40 riders instead of the standard 35 competitors at Unleash The Beast events. See the list of competitors by clicking HERE. 

90 Points

Colby Yates rode Carrillo Cartel in 2011 to the tune of 90 points. Since then, that bar hasn’t been surpassed by any other bull rider in the event’s history.

625 World Points

After an emotional win at the Mason Lowe Memorial last weekend, Chase Outlaw has inched closer to the now-injured Jess Lockwood in the standings. He is now just 625 points behind the 2017 world champion who will have to sit out six weeks with a broken collarbone. 

There are a total of 3,000 world standings points on the line this weekend, so a win here could mean a huge standings shuffle for Outlaw, and all of the other competitors hoping to move up the ranks. 

$200,000

The event boasts a purse of $200,000 for competitors who think they can cut at the STAPLES Center in Los Angeles.