Inside the UFL

Inside the UFL

by Fran Stuchbury
Published on June 11, 2026 under United Football League (UFL)


With playoff victories Sunday, the DC Defenders and Louisville Kings punched their tickets to play this year's United Bowl, the championship of the United Football League.

DC put an end to their four-game losing streak, including two straight losses to the Orlando Storm, when they defeated the Storm, 28-22, at Daytona Beach, Florida.

"These guys showed a lot of grit, a lot of resiliency," said Defenders Head Coach Shannon Harris. "These last few weeks that we played have been tough, grind-it-out games, but we just knew if we eliminated our mistakes and gave ourselves a chance to get to the end of the game, we felt really good about winning the game. We still had a few mistakes that we still have to clean up. We can't give up any more pick sixes. Our defense did a great job of keeping those guys out of the end zone and keeping the momentum out."

DC relied heavily on its run game, gaining 172 yards on the ground compared to just 56 for Orlando.

Quarterback Jason Bean made his second start of season for the Defenders, completing 18 of 33 passes for 233 years and one touchdown. He added five carries for 40 yards.

On April 19, 2026, Bean was traded from Louisville to DC for quarterback Mike DiLiello.

"There's been some dark days," explained Bean. "To put this team into the championship after the second half of the season that we've had, it's bittersweet."

Later in the day Louisville advanced to the United Bowl with a 29-20 road triumph over the St. Louis Battlehawks.

After starting the season 0-3, the Kings won seven of their last eight games.

"I'm just so proud of everybody for never giving up," said Kings Head Coach Chris Redman. "What an incredible example it is when things are down and life says you can't do it, you can still do it. That's what this group did. They never gave up; they fought every game just like it was the last one. We're not done. We got a a big time atmosphere next week we're going to be in the middle of playing DC in their home stadium."

Three plays of more than 50 yards each powered Louisville, including a 53 yard touchdown scamper by running back James Robinson in the first quarter. Ian Wheeler added a 51-yard burst for a score in the fourth quarter.

Tanner Brown became the first kicker in UFL history to convert two four-point field goals in a single game, hitting from 60 and 63 yards.

"He's amazing," added Redman "I've always talked about it since I met him. He's got that look on him... the confident swagger that he has. He doesn't lie to me and tell me, 'It's a little bit out of my reach,' or whatever. He tells me the exact truth.

"I can just say this will be his last year in the UFL. He is a professional NFL kicker that any any team needs to have to win a Super Bowl, but we're going to keep him one more game to win a United Bowl for us."

Linebacker Steele Chambers sealed the game for the Kings with an interception with 32 seconds off Battlehawks quarterback Luis Perez.

The Kings won the two regular season matchups between the teams, in week seven at DC, 30-13, then the following week, 33-30, at home.

The DC Defenders and Louisville Kings delivered three players each to the All-UFL team.

For the DC Defenders:

  • RB - Deon Jackson
  • OT - Yasir Durant
  • LB - Derick Roberson

For the Louisville Kings:

  • LB - Cam Gill
  • DB - Corey Mayfield Jr.
  • K - Tanner Brown

DC lost quarterback Jordan Ta'amu to a torn ACL in week eight. First Spencer Sanders had the opportunity to start for week nine before the team handed the reigns to Bean in the regular season finale.

Defenders will lean on their running game with Deon Jackson and Abram Smith as they did when they defeated Orlando.

DC's defense was able to slow down Storm quarterback Jack Plummer who led his team to the best record during the UFL regular season at 8-2.

Mistakes have cost the Defenders of late. They gave up defensive touchdowns the past two weeks.

Bean will face the team that traded him after Louisville made Chandler Rogers the starting quarterback..

"Well, as crazy as it sounds, I'm happy for Jason to get an opportunity somewhere else to play and be successful," said Redman. "So to be able to go out there and for him to play, it worked out great because he got into another situation that made sense when we decided to go with Chandler.

"Jason's an incredible player. He's one of the most athletically-gifted guys that came through in the last few years when it comes to just pure athletic ability and it shows. Obviously we wanted him to to go and have an opportunity to play somewhere else. We're not playing Jason. We're playing the DC Defenders. So, that's going to be our mindset."

The Kings will also look to establish the ground game with Wheeler and Robinson, taking pressure from Rogers. With the run clicking, he connected on 60 percent of his passes in their playoff victory.

The Louisville defense features UFL Defensive Player of the Year linebacker Cam Gill who led the league with 10 sacks, spearheading a defense that led the UFL with 13 interceptions during the regular season.

When the Kings get inside the opponent's 40-yard line they are already in field goal range for UFL Special Teams Player of the Year Brown who connected on 25 of 28 field goals.

United Bowl

Saturday, June 13th

United Bowl Louisville Kings vs. DC Defenders - 3 pm est. ABC

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United Football League Stories from June 11, 2026


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