UFL CHAMPIONSHIP GAME PREVIEW 2025
The United Football League will crown a new champion this Saturday, as the DC Defenders and Michigan Panthers clash at The Dome at America’s Center in St. Louis.
Having seen off the hometown Battlehawks and reigning champion Birmingham Stallions respectively, the final game of the season will bring the league’s top offenses face to face, with DC leading the way in both passing yards and touchdowns through the air, and Michigan capturing the award as the top-scoring offensive unit.
The Defenders are returning to the Championship game with unfinished business after reaching falling shot of capturing the 2023 XFL crown. Quarterback Jordan Ta’amu, who played in the loss to the Arlington Renegades at this stage two years ago, heads the most proficient passing offense in the UFL, but could not lead DC past Michigan in their lone regular season matchup.
The capital’s team, however, brings a league-high seven All-UFL selections into Saturday night’s championship showdown, including Chris Rowland — an All-UFL selction as both a wide receiver and a return specialist — and fellow WR Cornell Powell, who led the league in receiving touchdowns. Rowland, meanwhile, was the second most-prolific receiver in terms of yards — trailing only Michigan’s Siaosi Mariner. Panthers wideout Malik Turner was also in the top 10, as both teams benefited from stellar offensive lines that surrendered the fewest sacks over the season.
Michigan boast six All-UFL selections of their own, led by Offensive Player of the Year and overall MVP Bryce Perkins. While able to lean on the league’s leading rusher in terms of touchdowns scored, Toa Taua, Perkins also brings experience of multiple years on NFL rosters, including a trip to the Super Bowl with the Los Angeles Rams in 2021.
“It allows you to understand what it takes to keep playing on after the regular season,” Perkins told USA Today. “(You) kind of understand how to play your opponent and how to really just keep executing on the things that you think you may notice. Just a dedication in the execution level that it takes to go and perform as it gets late in the season.”
While Taua has dominated on the ground, Michigan also boasts the league’s best run defense, and is confident of repeating its earlier 38-14 Week 6victory over Saturday’s opponent. The Defenders, by contrast, have struggled to stop the run, conceding an average of 118 yards per game, as well as the second-highest number of rushing touchdowns, with 12, but excelled in tackles for loss (59) and sacks (third in the UFL with 22). DC were the only team in the UFL with two players finishing with at least five sacks to their name, and defensive ends Derek Roberson and Andre Mintz will have to hit Perkins early and often if they are to disrupt the dual-threat QB’s ability to dictate the game.
“We’ve got two really good offenses going to battle in this football game, and two really good defenses as well, so I think it will be an entirely different game than the first one — for all kinds of reasons,” Panthers HC Mike Nolan concluded, before paying tribute to the job done by Defenders replacement HC, Shannon Harris, who rightly earned UFL Coach of the Year plaudits. “I think their team has improved an awful lot since we played them last time. They were going through a lot of transitions with the coaching change and were adapting to the new things. Right now, they’re running on all cylinders!”