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Marchi Announces he will Retire after 2018 PBR World Finals

By: Justin Felisko
August 12, 2018

2008 World Champion Guilherme Marchi announced that he will retire at the end of the 2018 season. Photo: Andy Watson/BullStockMedia.com.

TULSA, Okla. – Here are three things we learned from the Express Employment Professionals Classic, presented by Osage Casino & Hotel, this weekend at the BOK Center.

Marchi announces 2018 season will be his last

2008 World Champion Guilherme Marchi made a bombshell announcement on Sunday afternoon when he revealed that he would be retiring at the end of the season.

Marchi first made the announcement on CBS Sports Network in an interview with Kate Harrison following his 83-point ride on Little Red Jacket in Round 2.

The 36-year-old later told PBR.com that he has accomplished all of his dreams in the PBR and he believes the time has come to walk away from the sport.

“I talked to my wife and I have a business (Marchi Brand) going well,” Marchi said. “It is getting harder for me to ride bulls. I spend lots of hours in the gym and my age is showing up. It is hard to compete with the young guys right now to stay on the top and get on the tough bulls. My dreams have come true. I am a World Champion, World Finals event champion, World Cup champion, Global Cup champion and the first rider to ride 500 and 600 bulls.

“I have no more dreams here in the PBR. I have filled up on my dreams.”

Marchi is the PBR’s all-time qualified rides leader on the premier series with 629 and has qualified for the PBR World Finals in 14 consecutive seasons.

Marchi is on pace to make the 2018 PBR World Finals, which would put Marchi in a tie with 2004 World Champion Mike Lee for the most World Finals appearances (15).

“This is going to be my 15th Finals,” Marchi said. “I know my body is kind of tired a little bit. I am kind of too heavy to ride bulls. It is hard for me. I need to fight a lot.”

The veteran fan favorite was not emotional in his announcement.

Instead, Marchi is at peace with his decision after talking with not only his family, but also fellow bull riders Adriano MoraesRenato Nunes and Valdiron de Oliveira.

“It was not hard because I have been thinking about this for a long time,” Marchi said. “The time comes for everybody. I remember when Justin (McBride) retired at 29 years old. I thought he was young and still could go. The time comes for everybody, and I think this is my time.”

Will he change his mind like Moraes and Oliveira did in their careers?

“I don’t know if I will change my mind,” Marchi said. “My plan for now is to retire. I know it is very hard. I talk to Adriano in Brazil. Valdiron. Renato. They said, ‘Think about if you want to retire. It is not easy. It is not easy to stay outside the sport.’

“This is what I think. My time has come. I am not the same Guilherme as I was five years ago to ride bulls.”

It was 10 years ago, though, when Marchi put forth one of the best seasons in PBR history. Marchi rode a remarkable 72.55 percent of his bulls (74-for-102) in 2008, winning five events and posting 13 90-point rides on his way to the World Championship.

Marchi’s world title came after three consecutive runner-up finishes, and he would once again finish second in the world standings in 2012.

Only three times in his career has he finished outside of the Top 10 of the world standings.

Marchi is 629-for-1,143 (55.03 percent) with 51 90-point rides and and three 15/15 Bucking Battle victories in his 15-year career. He has earned over $5.3 million in his career, which is the third most all time.

Earlier this year, Marchi won the 25th premier series event of his career by winning the Caterpillar Classic in Kansas City.

Marchi finished in 12th place in Tulsa and heads into next weekend’s Music City Knockout ranked 20th in the world standings.

He is 17-for-39 (43.59 percent) in 14 premier series events this season.

Marchi plans on competing in the final eight regular-season premier series events and the World Finals.

“Yes sir. Then I am done,” Marchi said.

He then added with a laugh, “And I still have a chance to win the world title too.”

Marchi said he simply wants to enjoy the remainder of what has now become his farewell season.

The only goals are now potentially reaching the 650 qualified ride mark and finishing inside the Top 10 of the world standings.

“I just want to finish in the Top 10,” he concluded. “That would be good for me.”

Leme’s plan works to perfection

Jose Vitor Leme sat in his hotel room late on Saturday night and pulled out his small notebook.

Leme then opened up on his phone the list of championship round bulls and began to study.

The 2017 Rookie of the Year looked up videos of each of the bulls slated to compete on Championship Sunday so that he could create a game plan for the championship round draft.

After tying for the Round 1 win (88.5 points on Pick-It Construction’s Find Jesus) with Cody Nance, Leme knew he could potentially have a high pick if he took care of business against Wound Up in Round 2.

Leme did just that by riding Wound Up for 86 points and earned the top selection for the draft.

Once Leme knew he had the first pick, he knew exactly who he would be selecting – Bottoms Up.

By then it was all game over.

Leme went to absolute town aboard Bottoms Up and conquered the bull for an event-winning 90.5 points on the final ride of the evening.

“I want to thank God for all the blessings he has given me,” Leme said with the help of Paulo Crimber translating. “I was riding really great and then I got hurt (torn ACL). I got kind of slowed down a little bit, but now I am back healthy and finished here No. 1.”

It was almost a carbon copy ride of the one he made aboard Bottoms Up to win the WCRA Showdown in Las Vegas back in May when he was 90 points on the bull.

Leme was lights out in Tulsa, going 3-for-3 and picking up 625 points toward the world standings.

It is his first regular-season win since going 6-for-6 to win the 2017 World Finals.

Leme admitted he was surprised it took him this long to win a regular season event.

“Without a doubt,” Leme said. “Being the Finals champion I thought this win would come earlier in the season this year. God always has his timing though. Sometimes our time is not the same. To win this event this weekend, it shows this is God’s time, and it couldn’t come at a better time.”

The 21-year-old won two of the three rounds in Tulsa and moved from sixth in the world standings to No. 3.

The 2017 Rookie of the Year trails world leader Kaique Pacheco, who went 0-for-3 in Tulsa, by 370 points heading into the final PBR Major of the season next week.

“I am just going to try hard to continue riding like I am and finish strong,” Leme said.

Also gaining ground on Pacheco was runner-up Fabiano Vieira and third-place finisher Cody Nance.

Vieira went a perfect 4-for-4 in Tulsa when you include his 87.5-point ride on Smooth Over in the 15/15 Bucking Battle.

The 36-year-old earned 357.5 points toward the world standings in both events to move to 10th in the world standings.

Vieira capped off his 3-for-3 showing in the regular event by riding Mr. Miller for 86.5 points in the championship round. The Perola, Brazil, bull rider covered Striker in Round 1 for 85.5 points and Moe in Round 2 for 83.75 points.

Nance was almost perfect as well in Tulsa, if not for a 7.96-second buckoff against Hangman in the championship round.

Regardless, Nance’s 2-for-3 showing earned him 275 world points. Even though he dropped to No. 5 in the world standings, he is only 514.17 points behind Pacheco.

Lonnie West (2-for-3, 205 world points) and Ryan Dirteater (2-for-3, 155 world points) rounded out the Top 5 in Tulsa.

West finished second in the championship round with a career-high 87.5 points on Lefty, while Dirteater rode Scrappie for 86.25 points.

Davis wins Round 2, but gets banged up in championship round

2016 World Champion Cooper Davis was frustrated to have bucked off his first two bulls on Saturday night in Tulsa, and he made sure to make up for things on Sunday by winning Round 2 aboard Udder Lover (88.25 points).

“That is a good bull that I have been on two other times where I have been 88.5 to 89.5 points on him,” Davis said. “He just feels really good. I cracked out a new rope today and I think that was the trick.

“It means a lot to bounce back today. Yesterday I wasn’t too enthused with myself. I knew I could ride better than that and that is not how I wanted to start the second half. Today was a big help in furthering a possibility of a World Championship this year.”

However, Davis did not have a happy ending in Tulsa as he was bucked off, and stepped on, by Locke & Loaded in 5.76 seconds during the championship round.

Davis was evaluated in the PBR Sports Medicine room, but Davis said he would be OK after the event and expects to ride in Nashville.

The No. 9 rider in the world standings finished in sixth place in Tulsa and picked up 115 world points.

Davis is 1,310 points behind world leader Kaique Pacheco.

Follow Justin Felisko on Twitter @jfelisko

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