Things to Know About the Defenders Home and Away Opponents

ARLINGTON

All-Time Record: 2-2

Home Record: 1-1

Away Record: 1-0

Postseason Record: 0-1

Ask Washingtonians to locate Arlington on a map and most would point to our Northern Virginia neighbor, located across the Potomac River. But to UFL fans, it’s a city nestled in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex. Whether it’s Arlington, VA or TX, the DMV and DFW share a long-suffering, bitter pro football rivalry with one another. The tradition has carried over to the UFL. 

In 2025, the Defenders and Renegades will square off in the regular season for the fifth and sixth times. All three previous regular-season matchups have been thrillers – determined by a combined total of four points.

In Week 9 of the 2023 season, a late call was overturned by the UFL Command Center that forced the game into overtime. However, D.C. would go on to win, 28-26, in its home finale. In Week 2 of 2024, the Defenders overcame a 10-point deficit in the final two minutes and Matt McCrane kicked a 49-yard field goal as time expired to give D.C. an improbable 29-28 comeback victory at Arlington. In the regular-season finale that same year, the Renegades scored late in the fourth quarter to hand the Defenders their second-ever loss at Audi Field. 

The two teams have also met in the inaugural XFL Championship game in 2023, where the underdog Renegades (4-6) shocked the heavily-favored Defenders (9-1), 35-26.

Did You Know? The Arlington Renegades were originally named the Dallas Renegades when they entered XFL 2.0 in 2020 but were rebranded to Arlington in 2023. The two teams were supposed to square off for the first time in history in Week 6 of the 2020 season, but the COVID-19 pandemic shut down the league just days before kickoff. 

SAN ANTONIO

All-Time Record: 2-1

Home Record: 2-0

Away Record: 0-1

The Defenders and Brahmas will have their fourth and fifth all-time meetings this season. Each team has defended its respective home turfs, with the Defenders winning both games at Audi Field and the Brahmas prevailing in the lone home game at the Alamodome.

The teams first met in the regular-season finale of the 2023 season, where D.C. led for most of the contest. San Antonio rallied in the fourth to take its first lead of the game and Jacques Patrick ran in a two-point conversion to help the Brahmas go ahead 28-22 with 6:27 left. However, Jordan Ta’amu and the Defenders offense would orchestrate a five-play, 69-yard game-winning drive and convert on a one-point PAT to eke out a victory.

In both teams’ 2024 UFL debut, San Antonio pulled out all the stops at home, including a fake punt where punter Brad Wing found center Alex Mollette in the middle of the field for a touchdown to close out the first half. San Antonio went on to win, 20-12. Kicker Matt McCrane kept D.C. in the game, going 4-for-4, accounting for all Defenders’ points.

D.C. would get its revenge at home in Week 6, defeating San Antonio, 18-12.




Did You Know? The city of San Antonio holds a special place in UFL co-owner Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson’s heart. In 2023, the “Brahma Bull,” the logo of his Project Rock brand, was embroidered on the back of every team’s uniform. “Brahma Bull” was also his nickname when he entered the wrestling business in the ‘90s. San Antonio was also one of Johnson’s favorite cities to wrestle. It was also the site of the 2023 XFL Championship game, where your beloved Defenders fell to the Arlington Renegades, 35-26.

ST. LOUIS

All-Time Record: 3-2

Home Record: 2-1

Away Record: 1-1

The UFL’s fiercest rivalry continues in 2025. 

In 2023, the Defenders swept the season-series, 2-0. D.C. got its first win against the A.J. McCarron-led BattleHawks, 34-28, behind the two-quarterback performance of Jordan Ta’amu and D’Eriq King. The duo combined to go 14-for-23 for 210 yards, throwing for two touchdowns and rushing for another, as the Defenders controlled the entire game. Three weeks later in St. Louis, running back Abram Smith would have a historic performance, setting a spring league record by rushing for 218 yards on 23 carries and three touchdowns, ripping off TD runs of 62 and 70 yards. 

The 2024 UFL season would pose a different fate. The BattleHawks would give the Defenders its first-ever loss at Audi Field, rolling to a 45-12 victory in Week 5. D.C. was 10-0 lifetime at home heading into the matchup. In Week 8, the Defenders could not make enough plays down the stretch in a seesaw game, as the BattleHawks held on to win, 26-21.

Did You Know? Ta’amu was the starting quarterback for the BattleHawks in 2020. He led the team with 1,050 passing yards and five touchdowns before the league shutdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The former Ole Miss standout started over current NFL standout QB Taylor Heinke, who has started games for the Washington Commanders and Carolina Panthers and currently plays for the Los Angeles Chargers.

Ta’amu was St. Louis’ quarterback during the teams’ first-ever meeting vs. D.C. in 2020. Ta’amu and the Battlehawks lost, 15-6, at Audi Field.

HOUSTON

All-Time Record: 2-0

Home Record: 2-0

Away Record: 0-0

The 2025 season will mark the third time D.C. will face off against Houston.

Both previous games were played in the Nation’s Capital. In 2023, the Defenders controlled the first matchup from opening kickoff to win, 37-26. Abram Smith continued his All-XFL season by rushing for 95 yards and a touchdown and WR Lucky Jackson added five catches for 136 yards and a touchdown. 

Last season, QB Jordan Ta’amu completed a 17-yard touchdown to wide receiver Ty Scott with around six minutes remaining to give D.C. a 21-18 lead in a Week 2 matchup. The Defenders went for the two-point conversion and succeeded when Ta’amu found tight end Alex Ellis to extend the lead to 23-18.

The Roughnecks had an opportunity to win the game, but D.C.’s defense shut down Houston, allowing only 18 yards on six plays to ensure the victory.




Did You Know? Houston was the only city that had a team in both spring football leagues. Despite keeping the branding of the legacy XFL team after forming the UFL, the coaching staff and roster were largely formed from the legacy USFL Houston Gamblers. The Roughnecks are now part of the USFL conference.

BIRMINGHAM

All-Time Record: 0-1

Home Record: 0-0

Away Record: 0-1

Next season will mark the first-ever home matchup and only the second-ever meeting between the Defenders and reigning UFL Champion Birmingham Stallions, who have won three-straight spring league titles: two USFL and one UFL. 

In a defensive struggle that included a two-hour rain delay, Matt McCrane kicked a 39-yard field goal to put the Defenders up, 18-17, with 1:04 left in the game, which proved to be more than enough time for QB Matt Corral and the Birmingham offense. Corral connected with Amari Rodgers on a 15-yard catch and pass, putting Birmingham in range for a Ramiz Ahmed field goal attempt. The Stallions ran a few more plays before Ahmed drilled a 46-yard field goal with just nine seconds remaining to give Birmingham the home win. 


Did You Know? Birmingham is the spring football all-time winningest franchise with a regular-season record of 64-24 (.762) and three league championships over six seasons. In USFL 1.0 (1983-85), they went 38-20. In USFL 2.0 (2022-23), they went 17-3, winning back-to-back titles in the process. They are also the reigning UFL champion after going 9-1 in 2024.

MEMPHIS

All-Time Record: 1-0

Home Record: 0-0

Away Record: 1-0

When the 2025 UFL season rolls around, the Defenders and Showboats will meet for only the second time.

In last season’s Week 9 matchup, the D.C. Defenders racked up a season-high 431 yards of offense en route to a 36-21 victory over the Memphis Showboats at Simmons Bank Liberty Stadium.

D.C. jumped out to a 14-0 lead early in the second quarter and was never threatened the rest of the way, leading the Showboats 30-7 early in the fourth and cruising to the 15-point win. Jordan Ta’amu led the way for D.C., passing for 237 yards and 2 touchdowns on 20-of-24 attempts. He also rushed for 38 yards and one touchdown, accounting for three of the Defenders’ five scores.


Did You Know? Showboats Head Coach Ken Whisenhut is not only a Super Bowl winning coordinator, but he has connections to D.C., playing for Joe Gibbs and the Washington NFL franchise during the 1990 season.

MICHIGAN

All-Time Record: 0-1

Home Record: 0-1

Away Record: 0-0

This is the second-ever matchup between the Defenders and Michigan Panthers. In 2024, Michigan defeated D.C., 22-9, in a Mother’s Day matinee at Audi Field. The win clinched a USFL Conference Championship appearance for the Panthers, where they lost to the eventual spring league champion Birmingham Stallions, 31-18.

Did You Know? Both D.C. and Michigan have a respective former player signed to the Detroit Lions, kickers Matt McCrane and Jake Bates, giving Detroit two of the best players at their position. McCrane, who is signed to the Lions practice squad, went 16-for-20 on field goals in 2024, making clutch kicks throughout the year – including a 49-yard game winner in Week 3 against Arlington on the road. 

Bates, who is the Lions’ active kicker, has connected on kicks of 64, 62 and 60 yards in his lone UFL season.