Leme to Attempt to end Smooth Operator’s Buckoff Streak on CBS National Television
By: Justin Felisko
PUEBLO, Colo. – A year ago, it seemed that the only legitimate chance Jose Vitor Leme had to ride future World Champion Smooth Operator was if the stout bucking bull would uncharacteristically turn into Leme’s left riding hand instead of his standard aggressive right turn leaving the bucking chutes.
Surprisingly, Smooth Operator went to the left on that Saturday night inside the Schottenstein Center, and Leme was able to win the 15/15 Bucking Battle on April 27, 2019 in Columbus, Ohio, with a dominant 92.5-point ride into his hand.
It did not take long for Smooth Operator to exact revenge against Leme in their next meeting four months later when he ripped the 2017 World Finals event off his back in 3.77 seconds by using his brute strength spinning to the right in Nashville.
Now, with a grudge match set for this coming weekend’s 15/15 Bucking Battle in Billings, Montana, it is safe to say Leme is going to be a much harder matchup for Smooth Operator even if he does go to the right and away from his hand.
Leme has won the last two Unleash The Beast events to continue to hold a firm grip on the world No. 1 ranking. He has continued to show tremendous improvement riding bulls away from his hand this season, including world No. 1 Chiseled for 94 points last month in Salt Lake City, Utah.
“Leme can ride anything,” reigning Stock Contractor of the Year Chad Berger said Tuesday. “If Smooth Operator goes to the right, Leme’s got a 75% chance to ride him. If he goes left, he’s got a 100% chance. Leme is so good.”
If you had asked Berger the same question heading into Columbus last year, he would have given Leme almost no shot against his rank bovine superstar going away from his hand, but Berger has seen Leme elevate his game in 2020.
Leme knows he is going to have his hands full, though, when he climbs into the bucking chutes aboard Smooth Operator on Saturday night at First Interstate Arena.
Fans can watch the showdown from the PBR Ariat Invitational, presented by Cooper Tires, on CBS national television Sunday at 3 p.m. ET (this time will vary depending on your television market).
Smooth Operator is the No. 2 bull in the YETI World Championship Bull race with a 45.75-point World Champion Bull Contender average, and he will enter the matchup with 18 consecutive buckoffs on the premier series.
“I don’t think he will come to the left again, but I’ll try stay in the middle and stay the 8 seconds,” Leme said Tuesday morning. “He’s a very difficult bull both ways, but if I ride him I think I win the 15/15.”
15/15 Bucking Battle Matchups
Mason Taylor vs. Soup in a Group (27-11, UTB)*
Cody Teel vs. Chiseled (12-7, UTB/METC)
Ramon de Lima vs. I’m Busted (6-0, UTB/METC)
Eduardo Aparecido vs. I’m Legit Too (14-6, UTB/METC)
Ezekiel Mitchell vs. Hocus Pocus (16-2, UTB/METC)
Cooper Davis vs. Smooth Over (25-11, UTB/METC)*
Cole Melancon vs. Sky Harbor (22-5, UTB/METC)*
Dener Barbosa vs. Total Feeds Bushwacked (27-7, UTB/METC)
Lucas Divino vs. Stretch (24-9, UTB/METC)$
Colten Jesse vs. Young Man’s Blues (7-0, UTB/METC)*
Daylon Swearingen vs. The Right Stuff (15-1, UTB/METC)
Kaique Pacheco vs. Marquis Metal Works Bill The Butcher (14-5, UTB/METC)*
Jess Lockwood vs. Axle (2-0, UTB)
Joao Ricardo Vieira vs. Sharon’s Little Hooker (2-0, UTB)
Jose Vitor Leme vs. Smooth Operator (81-7, UTB/METC)$
*Bull has previously bucked the rider off
$Rider has previously ridden the bull for 8 seconds
Leme has successfully ridden both of the top two bulls in the 2020 YETI World Championship race, and he broke down the variances he sees between the title contenders.
Chiseled leads the World Championship race with a 46.03-point World Champion Bull Contender average, and he has drawn 2012 PRCA champion Cody Teel for the 15/15 Bucking Battle. This is the first meeting between Teel and Chiseled.
“They have a lot of differences,” Leme said. “Smooth is stronger. He moves a lot to the front. It’s hard to stay close to your bull rope. He’s older (than Chiseled). He knows what he needs to do to drop off cowboys. Chiseled is a young bull. He just wants to buck, and it doesn’t matter if (a cowboy) will buck off or not. That is my sensation when I get on them.”
Leme leads No. 2 Joao Ricardo Vieira by a season-best 429.59 points in the world standings. Two-time World Champion Jess Lockwood is sitting No. 3, and he is 570.50 points off the top spot as he returns to competition this weekend following a six-month layoff because of reconstructive left hamstring surgery.
Vieira has drawn Sharon’s Little Hooker for the 15/15, and Axle is waiting for Lockwood. Axle bucked Leme off in 2.93 seconds two weeks ago for a 45.5-point bull score in the 15/15 Bucking Battle in Fort Worth, Texas.
Leme has not won a 15/15 Bucking Battle since he rode Smooth Operator last season, and a ride aboard the 10-year-old superstar would certainly put him in contention for the victory this weekend and add to his increasingly growing confidence.
“This is very important to increase my confidence even more,” Leme said. “Having beaten the best bulls in the world since I arrived here has been incredible; they are very cool things to have in my career.
“If I beat Smooth Operator again this season, it will definitely make a big difference for me this rest of the season.”
Follow Justin Felisko on Twitter @jfelisko
Photo courtesy of Andy Watson/Bull Stock Media
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