2026 UFL Week 3: How To Watch, What To Know, Biggest Storylines

Week 3 of the 2026 UFL season kicks off Friday on FOX with the Columbus Aviators — one of the league’s three new franchises — hosting the defending champion DC Defenders at Historic Crew Stadium in Columbus, Ohio. FOX Sports’ Joel Klatt and Curt Menefee will be on the call for the Week 3 bout on FOX UFL Friday — a dedicated night of UFL action taking place each Friday on FOX during the 10-week regular season. All 40 regular-season games — plus the playoffs on Sunday, June 7 and the championship game on Saturday, June 13 — will be televised across FOX, FS1, ABC, ESPN, ESPN2 and NFL Network. Games will also be available to stream on FOXSports.com, the FOX Sports app and FOX One. Click here for full regular-season schedules for every team. Here’s everything to know about Week 3: Week 3 (April 10-12) Orlando Storm (2-0) at Louisville Kings (0-2) Key players: Storm QB Jack Plummer, WR Elijhah Badger, WR KJ Hamler, K Michael Lantz; Kings QB Chandler Rogers, QB Jason Bean. What to know: The Kings and Storm are back at it again this week after facing each other in Week 2, but this time Louisville is hosting. The Storm and head coach Anthony Becht — who moved on from the Battlehawks after three seasons to become the head coach of the Storm this season — are looking to continue their hot streak. Could we see more of ex-Cleveland Browns quarterback Dorian Thompson-Robinson this week? The UCLA product came in last week’s game briefly to set up the score that gave the Storm their first lead of the game. Another Storm player to watch out for is USC product Lantz, who could very well become the latest UFL kicker to earn a job in the NFL. On the other side, the Kings are aiming to turn things around in this quick rematch after failing to score a touchdown last week. Louisville is one of two winless teams heading into Week 3 and hopes to change that. That’s certainly possible with Bean, who’s coming off a standout collegiate career as a dual-threat signal-caller at Kansas, and head coach Chris Redman, a former NFL quarterback. Houston Gamblers (1-1) at DC Defenders (1-1) Key players: Gamblers QB Nolan Henderson, QB Hunter Dekkers, WR Jontre Kirklin; Defenders QB Jordan Ta’amu, WR Seth Williams, RB Deon Jackson. What to know: Both teams are coming off huge wins in Week 2. The Gamblers defeated the Stallions on a dramatic walk-off field goal, while the Defenders crushed the Aviators by the largest margin of any game last weekend. Head coach Kevin Sumlin is at the helm for the Gamblers. The Roughnecks were rebranded to the Gamblers for 2026, reverting to their original name when Sumlin served as the team’s head coach in the legacy USFL in 2022. Shannon Harris, the UFL’s 2025 UFL Coach of the Year, is back for the Defenders after leading them to a championship title in his first season at the helm. DC has the most continuity of any team, returning 2025 UFL Championship Game MVP Ta’amu, offensive coordinator Fred Kaiss and defensive coordinator Blake Williams. Columbus Aviators (0-2) at Dallas Renegades (2-0) Key players: Aviators QB Jalan McClendon, RB Jalan McClendon, RB Zaquandre White; Renegades QB Austin Reed, WR Tyler Vaughns, WR Greg Ward. What to know: The Aviators are eyeing their first win of the season after suffering a brutal loss to the Defenders last week. Former NFL receiver and Ohio State standout Ted Ginn Jr. is at the helm of the newly formed Aviators. The Renegades are coming off a statement-making win last week vs. the Battlehawks that was highlighted by quarterback Austin Reed throwing for 240 yards and four touchdowns, with receiver Tyler Vaughns catching three of those scores. Former Colorado and Washington head coach Rick Neuheisel has taken over for the Renegades, who moved from Dallas to Arlington this season. We’re still waiting to see a breakout game from Luis Perez, “The Spring King” who led the league with 2,238 passing yards last year, but for now it looks like Dallas is sticking with Reed. Birmingham Stallions (1-1) at St. Louis Battlehawks (1-1) Key players: Stallions QB Matt Corral, WR Justyn Ross, WR Jaydon Mickens, WR Deon Cain, RB Anthony McFarland Jr.; Battlehawks QB Brandon Silvers, OLB Pita Taumoepenu. What to know: The Stallions enter the 2026 season looking to continue their dominance from previous years, having won three consecutive spring football championships (USFL titles in 2022 and 2023 and the inaugural UFL title in 2024). That said, Birmingham is coming off of a heartbreaker, losing to Houston last week in the game’s final seconds. This is the Stallions’ first season without coach Skip Hotz, who stepped away from his post this offseason. A familiar face in former UFL product and ex-Alabama quarterback AJ McCarron is now at the helm for Birmingham. The Battlehawks are hoping to settle into a rhythm as the season rolls on after a tough loss last week vs. the red-hot Aviators that saw them turn the ball over four times and punt twice. St. Louis quarterback Brandon Silvers hasn’t had a breakout performance yet, but there’s still plenty of time left for him to hit his stride. There’s still a learning curve to overcome for Ricky Proehl, who replaces Becht as the head coach for the Battlehawks this season. Single-game, season and group tickets are available now at www.theufl.com/tickets.