There are just two weeks remaining in the 2025 UFL regular season, and the conference championship matchups are already set. However, homefield advantage in each game will still come down to these final two weeks.
Play gets underway for Week 9 on Friday night in San Antonio and concludes on Sunday afternoon in Houston.
Check out my UFL predictions and free betting picks for Week 9.
UFL picks for Week 9
Picks made on 5-23.
Click on each pick to jump to the full analysis.
United Football League predictions and odds for Week 9
All odds courtesy of DraftKings.
St. Louis Battlehawks vs San Antonio Brahmas
Friday, 8:00 p.m. ET, FOX
| Battlehawks | Brahmas | |
|---|---|---|
| -6.5 | Spread | +6.5 |
| -305 | Moneyline | +245 |
| Over 41.5 | Total | Under 41.5 |
Last year, this matchup was the XFL Conference Championship game. Now, the San Antonio Brahmas have the worst record in the league.
These two teams met back in Week 2 in St. Louis, where the Battlehawks won 26-9. However, both teams have new quarterbacks due to injuries.
The Battlehawks are rolling out Max Duggan, who has played well since the injury to Manny Wilkens. He doesn’t put up big passing numbers but is a huge threat on the ground. He is the eighth-leading rusher in the league and has bumped up the production from running back Jacob Saylors, who leads the league in rushing.
Meanwhile, the Brahmas have the league’s worst rushing defense. They allow 124.0 yards per game and a league-worst 16 touchdowns on the ground. They have also only forced three interceptions all year, so they will be unlikely to take advantage of forcing Duggan into mistakes.
This game could be ugly with the Battlehawks needing to win to keep open the possibility of hosting the XFL Conference Championship game.
Pick: Battlehawks -6.5 (-110 at DraftKings)
Arlington Renegades vs Memphis Showboats
Saturday, 12:00 p.m. ET, ABC
| Renegades | Showboats | |
|---|---|---|
| -4.5 | Spread | +4.5 |
| -192 | Moneyline | +160 |
| Over 40.5 | Total | Under 40.5 |
The Arlington Renegades lost another heartbreaker last week by a score of 33-30 to the D.C. Defenders. That loss moved them to 3-5 with a four-game losing streak and eliminated from playoff contention despite a +26-scoring margin on the season.
Meanwhile, the Memphis Showboats just got a win in a battle of the bottom feeders by beating the Brahmas 24-22 in overtime.
The Renegades have dominated the bad teams this season, but unfortunately, they keep losing close games to the good teams.
In the absence of Kalen Ballage, they have relied heavily on Luis Perez and the passing game and have been able to put up big numbers. Last week, Perez was 32 of 46 passing for 350 yards and two touchdowns.
However, the Showboats do boast the best passing defense in the UFL. They also have the full quarterback room available with E.J. Perry, Troy Williams, and Dresser Winn all healthy.
The Renegades are the better team, but the Showboats match up well and the Renegades may be deflated from the recent close losses that eliminated them from the playoffs. I will take the points here.
Pick: Showboats +4.5 (-112 at DraftKings)
Michigan Panthers vs Birmingham Stallions
Saturday, 3:00 p.m. ET, ABC
| Panthers | Stallions | |
|---|---|---|
| +1.5 | Spread | -1.5 |
| +100 | Moneyline | -120 |
| Over 44.5 | Total | Under 44.5 |
This matchup was the USFL Conference Championship Game last year and will be again this season. Not only will this be a nice preview for that important game, but the Michigan Panthers can clinch homefield in that contest by beating the Birmingham Stallions this week.
These two teams also met back in Week 2 with a Stallions road win, 21-12. That was back when Bryce Perkins was unfathomably splitting time at quarterback and Matt Corral just took over for an injured Alex McGough. Now Perkins is an MVP front-runner and Corral is also injured.
However, Perkins is sitting out this game with an ankle injury, and J’Mar Smith is the current Stallions quarterback.
With Perkins out, I just cannot trust the Panthers offense to put up enough points to compete with the Stallions. Meanwhile, Smith threw for 307 yards last week against the Battlehawks and was able to unleash the deep ball with Deon Cain.
The Panthers have the worst passing defense in the league and won’t be able to keep up on offense without Perkins.
Pick: Stallions -1.5 (-110 at DraftKings)
D.C. Defenders vs Houston Roughnecks
Sunday, 4:00 p.m. ET, FOX
| Defenders | Roughnecks | |
|---|---|---|
| -3.5 | Spread | +3.5 |
| -175 | Moneyline | +145 |
| Over 45.5 | Total | Under 45.5 |
The Defenders are in the driver’s seat for hosting the XFL Conference Championship game, but if the Battlehawks win on Friday, then this game will be meaningless to them. It will all come down to their finale against the Battlehawks for who hosts the playoff game. However, they likely won’t want to go into that game rusty.
The Houston Roughnecks defense has fallen apart in the last three weeks and now must face the second-highest scoring team in the UFL. The good news is that the D.C. defense is nothing to write home about either. They have allowed 24 points in each game since Week 4.
Regardless of whether we see the Defenders playing for anything or not in this contest, I like the chances we see a lot of points. These are the sixth and seventh-ranked total defenses and the fifth and seventh-ranked scoring defenses. I will take the Over despite this being a high total for this league.
Pick: Over 45.5 (-112 at DraftKings)
Odds are correct at the time of publishing and are subject to change.
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