Week 3 of the 2026 UFL season begins Friday and will go through Sunday. Will the Dallas Renegades extend their undefeated start to the season? And will this finally be the game in which the St. Louis Battlehawks' offense wakes up?
Here are our three best bets for Week 3 of the 2026 UFL season.
Houston Gamblers vs. D.C. Defenders: D.C. -7.5 (-121)
The Gamblers' defense has shown some upside, but at the end of the day, they rank second in points allowed after the first two weeks with 50 -- only the Columbus Aviators (67) have conceded more points thus far. The Defenders are far from looking like the team that dominated the UFL in 2025, but as long as they have Jordan Ta'amu under center, they're going to have a realistic chance of overpowering opposing defenses. The Defenders bounced back from a Week 1 loss to the Battlehawks with a strong Week 2 win over the Aviators while scoring a whopping 44 points. If Ta'amu is under center, and the Defenders' rushing offense clicks once again under the leadership of Deon Jackson (154 yards, four touchdowns), don't be surprised if D.C. wins this game while covering the -6.5 spread. There's just too much upside on the Defenders' offense to think this game will end in any other way.
Columbus Aviators vs. Dallas Renegades: Dallas -8.5 (-121)
The Renegades have been the best offense in the UFL by a wide margin in the first two weeks of the season, but their strength is the passing game -- they lead the league in passing yards per game with 297.5 per game, as opposed to ranking as the third-worst rushing offense with just 79.5 yards on the ground per contest. The Aviators have the rushing game to complicate Dallas, as they rank second in rushing offense with 140.5 yards per game, while the Renegades are the best rushing defense in the league, allowing just 44.5 yards on the ground per contest. Both teams have clear strengths, but at the end of the day, Dallas is better equipped to slow Columbus down than the other way around. With that in mind, the Renegades should not only win this game but cover the -7.5 spread as well. Expect Dallas to have another strong offensive showing under the leadership of early MVP candidate Austin Reed (616 passing yards, seven TD passes).
Birmingham Stallions vs. St. Louis Battlehawks: Birmingham -2.5 (-130)
On paper, the Battlehawks and the Stallions should be two of the best teams in the UFL. However, both teams have shown deficiencies in the early stages of the campaign. The Stallions have an explosive offense, but they've struggled with consistency over the course of a game. As for the Battlehawks, they've shown promise defensively but have yet to find a rhythm offensively under their new head coach, A.J. McCarron. The Stallions rank fourth in total yards per game (303.0), while the Battlehawks are dead last in the same metric with just 460 total yards in their first two contests. The lack of consistency will hurt them again, as the Stallions will come out on top in this matchup.
