Five things to watch for in 2025 UFL Championship Game

And then there were two. 

It all comes down to this, as the DC Defenders take on the Michigan Panthers in the 2025 UFL Championship Game on Saturday evening at The Dome of America’s Center in St. Louis. 

The Panthers handled the Defenders in the teams' singular meeting earlier this season — a 38-14 victory in Week 6. However, Michigan head coach Mike Nolan knows this time will be very different, with the 2025 title on the line.

"They’re a better football team, and I’d like to think we are a better football team too," Nolan said. "I think it will be a very good game. They are very explosive on offense. … We’ve got two really good offenses going to battle in this football game, and you’ve got two really good defenses as well, so I think it will be an entirely different game than the first one for all kinds of reasons. 

"It’s a lot more meaningful, and I think their team has improved an awful lot since we played them last time. They were going through a lot of transitions with the coaching change in the middle of the season and things like that, and they were just adapting to the new things. … Right now, they’re running on all cylinders. They’re doing a real good job."

Defenders head coach Shannon Harris recently earned UFL Coach of the Year honors for how he deftly handled the departure of former head coach Reggie Barlow and ex-defensive coordinator Gregg Williams, leading DC to a 6-4 regular-season record, a postseason berth and a spot in a spring football championship for the second time in three seasons. 

Harris and the Defenders throttled the St. Louis Battlehawks on their home turf last week, 38-16, in the XFL Conference title game. Their reward? Facing a Michigan squad that is peaking at just the right time after