Moorman Crowned 2022 Ultimate Bullfighters World Champion
By: Kacie Albert
FORT WORTH, Texas – Concluding the marathon seven-day Ultimate Bullfighters (UBF) World Finals in Fort Worth, Texas, with a monstrous 92.5-point bullfight, Chance Moorman (Lytle, Texas) made history Saturday afternoon, crowned the 2022 UBF World Champion to become the first-ever two-time title holder in the organization’s history.
In addition to earning the coveted UBF World Champion buckle, Moorman’s impressive tournament run garnered him a check for $50,000.
The 2022 UBF World Finals also crowned the Stock Contractor of the Year and Fighting Bull of the Year as voted on by the Top 24 UBF athletes. Chad Ellison was anointed the 2022 UBF Stock Contractor of the Year and #623 Joker on Jack was named the Fighting Bull of the Year after a dominant season.
In freestyle bullfighting, a bullfighter competes for 60 seconds against a fighting bull predominantly of Spanish descent in an effort to score points for maneuvers performed during the one-minute competition. Unlike traditional bullfighting, the animals are not harmed. Bullfighters are judged solely on their ability to perform gravity-defying acrobatic stunts as close to the bull as possible without getting hit.
Championship Saturday got underway with six head-to-head showdowns with each winning fighter advancing to the winner-take-all final showdown round.
For Moorman, he squared off against Noah Krepps (Jasper, Arkansas). Krepps was disqualified after taking to the fence three times during his out, however, Moorman put on a clinic, matching his bull round for round en route to an 89-point score.
Moorman was joined in the winner-take-all round by Tucker Lane (Oak Grove, Missouri), Knox Dunn (Slaughter, Louisiana), Brock Bowman (Barnsdall, Oklahoma), Dylan Idleman (Madill, Oklahoma) and Sam Marical (Ada, Oklahoma).
Lane was the first to advance to the final round after besting Clay Moore (Belen, New Mexico) by one point, 89-88, selling his impressive fight with a mammoth jump.
The second round pitted reigning UBF World Champion Dunn against Colby Lindsey (Calvert City, Kentucky).
While Lindsey began his fight with a high-flying jump, he was driven to the fence several times, marked just 82.5 points. Dunn, however, remained in control from the moment his bull hit the dirt inside the iconic Cowtown Coliseum scored 87.5 points to advance in the tournament.
Rookie Bowman earned the third berth to the shootout round when he earned 79.5 points to Justin Martin’s (Weatherford, Texas) no-score.
Outscoring Jacorey Golden (Houston, Mississippi) by nearly 10 points, 87-77.5, Idleman punched his ticket to the final round of the season. While Golden was unable to challenge his bull for a higher score, Idleman stepped up against his challenging bovine opponent, delivering two cross jumps to wow the crowd.
With one spot remaining in the final round, Marical and Roper Rich (Eaton, Colorado) took to the dirt. Rich was pushed out of the arena quick by his bull, awarded just 77 points, while Marcial stayed hooked up with his rank bull, delivering a fun-to-watch fight for 80.5 points.
When the shootout round commenced, Moorman’s unstoppable form was on full display.
Bringing the electric crowd to its feet, Moorman remained in full control, working his bull at every turn en route to an event-best 92.5 points to clinch the 2022 UBF World Championship.
Young gun Bowman also delivered a monstrous fight, scored 90 points to finish second and collect $22,000. Taking on the Fighting Bull of the Year Joker on Jack, Bowman never flinched, keeping pace with the clever animal athlete to cement the silver finish.
Idleman concluded his farewell season with a third-place finish. He concluded his career with a solid 88.5-point fight to garner $12,500.
Looking down the leaderboard, Lane and Knox finished fourth and fifth, respectively, despite earning no score in the shootout round.
Marical rounded out the Top 6 in sixth after being disqualified when he remained on the fence at the expiration of time.
In the middle of the seven-day 2022 UBF World Finals, on Sunday, December 4, the organization held a special $10,000-added showcase headlined by nine of the best bullfighters from the regular season. The showcase got underway with the competing athletes split into three groups of three, with the top performing bullfighter in each trio advancing to the final round.
Round 1 included Golden, Colton Orcutt (Kersey, Colorado) and Lane. Remaining in control of his ferocious animal athlete opponent, Orcutt emerged the top bullfighter, scored 87.5 points after he worked the bull both ways during the fight.
The second grouping of fighters pitted Idleman, Dekevis Jordan (Madill, Oklahoma) and Wagner Miqueline (Zacarias, Brazil) against one another. Staying close to his bull’s face and concluding the fight with a big spine grind to lead the crowd to erupt in raucous cheer, Jordan advanced with a score of 86.5 points.
Krepps, Dunn and Lindsey then took to the dirt for the final round. Reigning UBF World Champion Dunn’s smooth style was on full display, as he walked around one of Chad Ellison’s hottest fighting bulls to win the three-way battle with 86.5 points.
In the short round, Dunn continued to fight supreme, registering 89 points to best Orcutt (87 points) and Jordan (83 points). Making his animal athlete counterpart look like a walk in the park to be in the arena with, Dunn won the fight with ease, while also executing his new “praying man,” move.
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Photo courtesy of Andre Silva/Bull Stock Media
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