Jose Vitor Leme Is Back — And the Title Chase Is Heating Up

Jose Vitor Leme has put the rest of the top-ranked bull riders in the world on notice. 

For the first time in 2026, the three-time PBR World Champion said, “I’m getting my confidence back. I’m feeling great. My body is good. Riding good again. So, I just need to do my job and that’s what I’m doing.”

He not only rode all three long round bulls in Albuquerque, New Mexico, he did so in impressive fashion. He opened the event with 89.65 followed by 87.95 and then Sunday afternoon he was 90.75 in Round 3.

Leme is now within five rides of tying the all-time record of 94 90+ point scores in a career. 

“Feeling great,” he reiterated, before adding, “Three bulls in a row, that’s what I needed to get my momentum back.”

Leme finished fifth in the event and moved from 36 to 27 in the world standings with a trio of regular-season events — Sioux Falls, South Dakota; Billings, Montana; and Tacoma, Washington — leading up to the PBR World Finals. 

After last year’s heroic stretch run in which Leme damn-near did not even qualify for the Finals, to winning his record-tying third world title, the 29-year-old has his sights set on claiming a historic fourth gold buckle. 

With more than $8 million won in the arena, bull riding is no longer about money. 

For Leme, his drive and determination is driven by legacy and his desire to one day retire as the undisputed greatest bull rider in PBR history, but he will have to come behind yet again. Last year, he caught and surpassed fellow Monster Energy rider Dalton Kasel. This year, he is closing in on another Monster Energy teammate, the young 20-year-old John Crimber. 

Crimber is currently the No. 1 ranked rider in the world. 

A half-dozen of his teammates — Kasel, 6; Clay Guiton, 8; Cassio Diaz, 14; Daylon Swearingen, 16; Kaique Pacheco, 25; and Leme, 27 — are all focused on reaching the top of the rankings. 

Diaz, Swearingen, Pacheco, and Leme have all previously won world titles and know exactly what it takes to overcome the late-season pressures that come with intense moments and the reality of a $1 million bonus being on the line. 

Crimber has finished in the Top 4 in each of his first two seasons. 

But after bucking off two bulls in a row, in Albuquerque, Crimber grumbled, “I’m tired of getting on shit stock.” 

The next afternoon, he regained his composure and lit up the leaderboard with 88.5 points. 

Afterward he said, “We’re all human sometimes. We get to thinking about the outcome we don’t want. … Today I drew a bull that’s never been ridden, so I knew I could be some points on him. I had fun and reminded myself why I do this.”