The Birmingham Stallions head to St. Louis on Sunday for a Week 3 meeting with the Battlehawks, a game that brings A.J. McCarron back to a city tied to one of the roughest turns of his UFL run. The matchup at The Dome at America’s Center kicks off at 2 P.M. ET and will air on ABC.
Birmingham arrives at 1-1 after a Week 2 loss to the Houston Gamblers that ended on a buzzer-beating field goal. Matt Corral played well in defeat, completing 21 of 27 passes for 226 yards and two touchdowns, but the Stallions were outscored 13-6 in the fourth quarter and could not finish the job. St. Louis is also 1-1, which gives Sunday’s game a quick effect on the early standings and adds weight to a rivalry that already carries more edge than most UFL matchups.
This is more than a routine Week 3 game because the 2026 UFL season is already 20 percent complete, and both teams are trying to settle into new identities after years of stability. Birmingham has the most championships in the league picture that now exists, while St. Louis brings the most dedicated fan base, and the two clubs have changed coaches and systems at the same time. That makes the first meeting between them in 2026 feel less like a checkpoint and more like an early test of which team has adjusted faster.
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The sharpest friction in the game is McCarron’s return. He is going back to St. Louis after a messy breakup with former head coach Anthony Becht, a backdrop that gives the visit a little more bite than a typical regular-season date. For the Battlehawks, beating the Stallions would mean more than evening their record. For Birmingham, a road win would steady a team that was seconds away from being 2-0 and instead has to answer an old storyline in a new season.
Sunday should tell an early truth about both teams: whether Birmingham can turn strong quarterback play into a clean finish, and whether St. Louis can use its home field to slow a rival that has spent years setting the standard.
