2026 United Bowl
American football championship game
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The 2026 United Bowl, commonly referred to as United Bowl III[by whom?], was an American football game played on June 13, 2026, at Audi Field in Washington, D.C.. The contest determined the champion of the 2026 UFL season and was played between the Louisville Kings and the DC Defenders. The game began at 3:00 p.m. EDT and aired on ABC.[1] The Kings won 27–20, earning their first United Bowl title.
Washington, D.C.
Audi Field, where the game was played. | |||||||||||||||||||
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| Date | June 13, 2026 | ||||||||||||||||||
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| Kickoff time | 3:00 p.m. EDT (UTC-4) | ||||||||||||||||||
| Stadium | Audi Field Washington, D.C. | ||||||||||||||||||
| MVP | Ian Wheeler, running back | ||||||||||||||||||
| Favorite | Defenders by 1.5 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Referee | Kole Knueppel | ||||||||||||||||||
| Attendance | 19,023 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Ceremonies | |||||||||||||||||||
| National anthem | Voices of Service | ||||||||||||||||||
| Halftime show | 50 Cent | ||||||||||||||||||
| TV in the United States | |||||||||||||||||||
| Network | ABC | ||||||||||||||||||
| Announcers | Joe Tessitore (play-by-play), Jordan Rodgers (analyst), Sam Acho (sideline reporter), Tom Luginbill (sideline reporter) and Tyler Fulghum (betting) | ||||||||||||||||||
| Nielsen ratings | 1.0 (0.98 million viewers) | ||||||||||||||||||
Background
Host selection
Audi Field had previously been the first choice to host the 2025 championship but was unable to do so because of schedule conflicts with the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup.[2]
UFL playoffs
Bracket
| Semifinals June 7, 2026 | United Bowl June 13, 2026 | ||||||||
| 1 | Orlando Storm | 22 | |||||||
| 4 | DC Defenders | 28 | |||||||
| 4 | DC Defenders | 20 | |||||||
| 3 | Louisville Kings | 27 | |||||||
| 2 | St. Louis Battlehawks | 20 | |||||||
| 3 | Louisville Kings | 29 | |||||||
Teams
DC Defenders
The DC Defenders finished the 2026 season with a 5–5 record.[3] They made their second appearance in the UFL championship game after winning the title in 2025 by defeating the Michigan Panthers, 58–34. DC also played in the 2023 XFL Championship Game, a loss to the Arlington Renegades.
Louisville Kings
After two rough seasons as the Memphis Showboats, the Louisville Kings finished their first season in existence with a 6–4 record, having rebounded from an 0–3 start to win six of their last seven games.[4] The turnaround was in part caused by the trading of their original starting quarterback Jason Bean to DC;[5] Bean then rose to the Defenders' starting quarterback position after an injury to longtime Defenders starter Jordan Ta'amu.[6]
Matchup
The matchup marked the third meeting between the two teams during the season, with Louisville winning the previous two contests. DC made its third championship game appearance in franchise history and its second in the UFL. Although the game was originally designated as a neutral-site championship, it was held at the home stadium of the Defenders. The Defenders entered the game without 2025 UFL championship game MVP quarterback Jordan Ta'amu, who suffered a torn ACL during a Week 8 loss to the Kings.[7] Following an ineffective performance by backup quarterback Spencer Sanders against Orlando, DC turned to third-string quarterback Jason Bean for its Week 10 matchup against the Storm, a game the Defenders lost. Bean, however, later led DC to an upset playoff victory over top-seeded Orlando after the Storm had defeated the Defenders in each of their previous two meetings. Bean began the season as Louisville's starting quarterback, starting the first four games before being traded to DC in exchange for Mike DiLiello. The move opened the door for Chandler Rogers, who went 5–1 as Louisville's starter during the regular season before leading the Kings to a playoff victory over the St. Louis Battlehawks. The championship game also marked the first on-field meeting between Bean and Rogers, who were teammates at Lake Ridge High School in Mansfield, Texas. The only previous collegiate connection between the two came in 2019, when Rogers was redshirting at Southern Miss and Bean served as a backup at North Texas. Rogers did not appear in the game, while Bean threw a touchdown pass in Southern Mississippi's 45–27 victory.[8]
Game summary
First half
Following punts on both opening possessions, scoring opened with a Matt McCrane 48-yard field goal for DC. After Louisville's second consecutive punt, DC running back Xazavian Valladay broke free for a 54-yard run before being chased down and tackled by Keaton Ellis, who forced a fumble that bounced 35 yards into the end zone where Cameron Dantzler recovered for a Louisville touchback.
Early in the second quarter, Rogers was intercepted by Kai Gray. On DC's ensuing possession, a completion from Bean to Ty Scott was forced loose by Corey Mayfield, and the fumble was recovered and returned 12 yards for a Louisville touchdown by Eric Garror, giving the Kings a 7–3 lead. Valladay later redeemed himself on DC's next drive, scoring on a 51-yard touchdown run to regain the lead. Following a Louisville punt, McCrane added a 57-yard field goal for DC. On Louisville's next possession, Rogers was intercepted again by Gray, setting up a 28-yard McCrane field goal that extended DC's lead to 16–7 at halftime. Despite both quarterbacks being held to fewer than 50 passing yards, the Defenders outgained the Kings 227–62 and held a 209–41 advantage on the ground, while both teams committed two turnovers. Artist 50 Cent performed the halftime show.[9]
Second half
Louisville scored its first offensive points of the contest on its opening drive with a Tanner Brown 57-yard field goal, set up by a 19-yard run from James Robinson. On DC's ensuing possession, Bean suffered a left shoulder separation on an incomplete third-down pass attempt, ruling him out for the remainder of the game. Brown later cut the deficit to one point with his second field goal of the game, a 38-yard kick. DC then turned to quarterback E. J. Perry, who had been signed on May 25 and had not appeared in the Week 10 game or playoffs to that point. Following a DC three-and-out, Louisville running back Ian Wheeler broke free for a 44-yard go-ahead touchdown run on the first play of the fourth quarter, his eighth touchdown of the season.
After generating just six offensive yards in the third quarter, DC's ensuing drive was derailed when Perry's long completion to Cornell Powell was negated by offensive pass interference. On the same drive, Perry was shortly afterwards intercepted on a deep post route by Dantzler, who returned it 47 yards to the DC 25-yard line. Two plays later, Robinson broke multiple tackles on a 16-yard touchdown run, extending Louisville's lead to 27–16 with just over 12 minutes remaining. A strong kickoff return by Valladay to midfield sparked a promising drive, but multiple penalties stalled the possession. McCrane salvaged the drive with a 60-yard four-point field goal, his fourth of the season, cutting the deficit to 27–20 with just over nine minutes remaining. Following a Louisville three-and-out, Perry led DC inside the red zone. On fourth down from inside the Kings’ 10-yard line, his pass sailed over Powell and fell incomplete with under two minutes remaining. With no timeouts remaining, DC was unable to stop the clock, and Louisville ran out the clock to secure a 27–20 victory and the championship. The Kings finished the season winning eight of their final nine games.[10]
Running back Ian Wheeler was named the game's most valuable player, rushing for 81 yards on 10 carries, including the go-ahead 44-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter. He also returned a kickoff for 28 yards.[11]
Scoring summary
| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
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| DC Defenders | 3 | 13 | 0 | 4 | 20 |
| Louisville Kings | 0 | 7 | 6 | 14 | 27 |
at Audi Field • Washington, D.C.
- Date: Saturday, June 13, 2026
- Game time: 3:00 p.m. EDT
- Game weather: Partly cloudy, 89 °F (32 °C)
- Game attendance: 19,023
- Referee: Kole Knueppel
- TV announcers (ABC): Joe Tessitore (play-by-play), Jordan Rodgers (analyst), Sam Acho (sideline reporter), Tom Luginbill (sideline reporter) and Tyler Fulghum (betting)
- Game Book
| Game information |
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First quarter
Second quarter
Third quarter
Fourth quarter
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Statistics
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