A.J. McCarron is heading back to St. Louis on Sunday, and the backdrop is as sharp as the matchup. The Birmingham Stallions visit the Battlehawks at The Dome at America’s Center at 2 P.M. ET on April 12 in a Week 3 game that will be shown on the ABC Network.
Both teams enter with 1-1 records, which keeps the stakes tight in a 2026 UFL season that is already 20 percent complete. Birmingham lost in Week 2 to the Houston Gamblers on a buzzer-beating field goal, even after Matt Corral completed 21 of 27 passes for 226 yards and two touchdowns. The Stallions were still outscored 13 to 6 in the fourth quarter, a late collapse that left them looking for cleaner finishes. St. Louis, meanwhile, won its home opener against D.C. 16-10 after Brandon Silvers was pressured frequently in the passing game.
McCarron’s return adds another layer. He is back in St. Louis after a messy breakup with former head coach Anthony Becht, making this more than a routine early-season meeting between evenly matched teams. The game also brings together two clubs framed by different kinds of pressure: Birmingham, the league’s most decorated team, and St. Louis, the team with the most dedicated fan base.
That makes Week 3 feel bigger than its record line suggests. Both sides are also still settling into new head coaches and new systems after years of stability, so Sunday is as much about finding identity as it is about winning. For the Stallions, the question is whether Corral can carry a passing game that flashed in Houston. For the Battlehawks, it is whether the home crowd can help them turn early resistance into another result at The Dome.
