The BFTS Season Resumes this Weekend with the Music City Knockout

NASHVILLE – The opening act of the PBR’s (Professional Bull Riders) Built Ford Tough Series (BFTS) second half invades Nashville as Bridgestone Arena hosts the Frontier Communications Music City Knockout presented by Cooper Tires and brought to fans locally by Sonic on Aug. 19-20. This event will be the last of four PBR Majors to take place this year. Nashville’s two-day, head-to-head, bracket-style event is the only one of its kind on the 2016 BFTS schedule.

The Top 35 bull riders in the world will travel to the Music City as it hosts the fourth and final PBR Major of the year. PBR Majors offer increased prize money and points and can easily catapult a bull rider up the PBR World Standings. The event will begin at 8 p.m. on Friday, August 19, and at 7 p.m. on Saturday, August 20.

Currently less than 900 points separate the No. 1 spot from the No. 10 spot in the PBR world standings and with nearly 3,000 points up for grabs in Nashville the Top 10 could easily shift by the end of the weekend.

The Music City Knockout is the first of 10 chances for the world’s best bull riders to earn enough points to get them to the PBR’s Built Ford Tough Series World Finals in Las Vegas on November 2-6.

Last year the 2015 PBR Rookie of the Year, Kaique Pacheco rode his way to victory in Nashville during the championship round. It was Pacheco’s first time riding in the Music City.

Pacheco is featured prominently in the Netflix documentary “Fearless,” premiering globally on Friday, Aug. 19.  The critically acclaimed six-part series follows the top Brazilian stars of the PBR.

Pacheco returns to defend his title along with two-time and reigning PBR World Champion J.B. Mauney who will highlight four World Champions competing. The second ranked cowboy in the world, Mauney along with Mike Lee (2004), Guilherme Marchi (2008) and three-time World Champion Silvano Alves (2011, 2012, 2014) will all be competing while Tennessee native Cody Nance will represent the home state during the weekend.

Young guns Derek Kolbaba, Jess Lockwood and Nevada Newman will all ride in Nashville for the first time and Chase Outlaw, a previous winner in Nashville will return to competition in the Music City Knockout after recovering from multiple reconstructive shoulder surgeries over the past year.

Winners in Nashville include Kaique Pacheco (2015), Chase Outlaw (2014), Guilherme Marchi (2013), Robson Palermo (2012, 2007), Ben Jones (2010), Cody Ford (2009), Justin McBride (2008, 2002), Owen Washburn (2004), Billy Robinson (2003),  Dusty LaBeth (2001), Adriano Moraes (2000), Terry Don West (1999, 1998), Jerome Davis (1997), Michael Gaffney (1996).

CBS Sports Network will broadcast both days of the event, Friday night will be at 9:00 p.m. ET while Saturday will be at 10:00 p.m. ET. CBS Sports will feature the final rides of the event on Sunday at 2:00 p.m. ET. Fans can also watch each round live on PBR LIVE.

PBR LIVE is available at no charge to all fans and media. Visit www.PBR.com/live to view. Fans can also watch all of the action via the PBR LIVE app, available for download now on Google Play and iTunes.

Tickets start at $18 in price (additional fees and taxes may apply) and are on sale now at the Bridgestone Arena box office, online at Ticketmaster.com or by calling PBR customer service at 1-800-732-1727.

New to the ticket options this year are the PBR Elite Seats. Located in an exclusive section of the arena immediately next to the chutes and all of the action, the PBR Elite Seats are priced at $377.50 (additional fees and taxes may apply) each for Saturday only, and will give fans the VIP experience of a lifetime; a pre-event reception with refreshments, backstage tours featuring a PBR 101 presentation, and meet-and-greets with some of the PBR’s top stars.

The Music City Knockout will be the 17^th event on the 2016 PBR BFTS schedule. The season will consist of 26 stops, traveling to such cities as Chicago, New York, Anaheim, Calif., and Dallas. It will climax with the PBR Built Ford Tough World Finals in Las Vegas on Nov. 2-6 when the 2016 PBR World Champion, the bull rider who earns the most world standings points during the season, will receive the coveted World Championship belt buckle and $1 million bonus.

The BFTS is televised every week on CBS, CBS Sports Network and networks around the world. BFTS telecasts are produced for the PBR under a multi-year agreement with David Neal Productions, a Los Angeles-based production company led by 34-time Emmy® Award winner and Peabody Award winner David Neal, who serves as executive producer.