The stage is set for the Orlando Storm and head coach Anthony Becht to hit the ground running as they embark on their first season in the UFL during the 2026 season. Orlando’s path to a postseason berth and a chance to make a run to the UFL championship game has been set by the release of the UFL 2026 Schedule. For the Storm, their schedule provides ample opportunity to get a quick jump on their UFL competitors, as they are one of the few teams led by a proven UFL winner.
The UFL not only released the Orlando Storm schedule but also the entire UFL schedule, giving us a full view of the 2026 season for season 3 of the UFL.
Coming into the 2026 UFL season, the Orlando Storm has an advantage over many of the teams in the UFL that have had the deck shuffled. That advantage is Anthony Becht’s successful experience as a head coach for the Saint Louis Battlehawks. During the first two UFL seasons, Becht led his Battlehawks team to the playoffs. In addition, Becht and his coaching staff have historically been excellent at building a successful team culture and connections with their community, which has not been a strength of all UFL teams.
By relying on Becht’s experience in building and preparing a UFL team for a successful season, the Orlando Storm is giving itself a head start in the UFL. This season, several teams have a head coach with little or no head-coaching experience at any level of football. Those coaches are former players, but on a week-to-week basis, Becht’s experience navigating a UFL season should be a significant advantage for the Storm.
Week 1 – Home vs. Columbus Aviators
Date and Time: Sunday, March 29th at 8 pm EST
The Orlando Storm open the 2026 UFL season on the road against the Columbus Aviators. Similar to the Orlando Storm, the Aviators are a re-branded team from 2025, with some of their roster coming from the Michigan Panthers. However, the Aviators’ head coach for the 2026 season is first-time head coach Ted Ginn Jr., and while Ginn was an outstanding wide receiver at Ohio State and in the NFL, that will not necessarily translate into leading a UFL team. Coming into this game, the Storm will have a strong offensive and defensive line, the ability to run the ball effectively, and the ability to defend the run. This is a proven recipe for the Storm to start the season with a road win.
Week 2 – Home vs. Louisville Kings
Date and Time: Saturday, April 4th at 8 pm EST
In Week 2, the Orlando Storm plays its first home game against a Louisville Kings team that is also a rebranded 2025 team with connections to the Memphis Showboats. Similar to Columbus, the Kings are led by former Louisville and Baltimore Ravens quarterback Chris Redman, who comes to the UFL without prior professional-level head coaching experience. What Redman does have is a coaching staff loaded with former Baltimore Ravens players. However, it is unclear how their coaching staff’s playing career will translate to on-field success. If the Storm come ready to play a fundamentally sound game, they have a great chance to start the season with back-to-back wins.
Week 3 – Away @ Louisville Kings
Date and Time: Friday, April 10th at 8 pm EST
In Week 3, the Storm have to go on the road to once again face the Louisville Kings. There is no doubt that this second straight game against the Kings will be a much more difficult game to win. However, if the Storm has been built on a foundation of a strong running game and a sound run defense, then the Storm should be able to stack two wins against the Kings. On the other hand, the Storm need to make sure that they are growing as a team each week of the season so that they are playing their best football when it is time to start the postseason.
Week 4 – Away @ Birmingham Stallions
Date and Time: Saturday, April 18th at 4 pm EST
Historically, the Birmingham Stallions are one of the top teams in the UFL. However, during the UFL rebranding efforts, the Stallions made a change at head coach, with A.J. McCarron transitioning from quarterback to head coach. While McCarron has surrounded himself with experienced coaches, it is unclear how well he will be able to lead this team. In the past, the Stallions were very similar to how Becht is building the Storm’s roster. While getting a win against the Stallions is never easy, the Storm should have a good opportunity to pick up a landmark victory in Birmingham.
Week 5 – Home vs. Saint Louis Battlehawks
Date and Time: Saturday, April 25th at 7 pm EST
In Week 5, Storm head coach Anthony Becht gets to return to Saint Louis, where Becht started his head coaching career. This will be an emotional return for Becht, as the Storm will need to be prepared to face the league’s largest and most loyal fan base. That will provide unique challenges, including a loud atmosphere that the Storm will need to be prepared to manage, especially on the offensive side of the ball. On the other hand, the Storm should have an advantage from a head coach perspective, as veteran head coach Becht will face rookie head coach Ricky Proehl. However, as the Storm get further into the regular season, Becht’s experience advantage will become less impactful each week.
Week 6 – Home vs. Birmingham Stallions
Date and Time: Sunday, May 3rd at 4 pm EST
In Week 6, the Orlando Storm will have to face the Birmingham Stallions for a second time in 2026, but this time at their home stadium. It will be important for the Storm fans to come ready to be loud and to give the Storm as much of a true homefield advantage as possible against Birmingham. Regardless of the external factors, this game is going to come down to which team can win on the line of scrimmage and also produce explosive plays in the passing game. If Orlando can sweep the Stallions, they will be in a great position to be in the top half of the UFL and earn a postseason berth.
Week 7 – Away @ Houston Gamblers
Date and Time: Sunday, May 10th at 6 pm EST
In Week 7, the Orlando Storm will face a unique challenge against the Houston Gamblers and their new head coach, Kevin Sumlin. Sumlin has built a career on installing pass-heavy “Air Raid” offenses, but this Gamblers team will be more balanced due to the limited time Sumlin has to develop the passing game. Last season, the Houston fan base abandoned the Houston Roughnecks, leading to the return of the Gamblers brand. It is hard to predict how the Houston fan base will respond to the changes made this offseason, which could make this a somewhat unpredictable road trip for the Orlando Storm.
Week 8 – Away @ Dallas Renegades
Date and Time: Friday, May 15th at 8 pm EST
The Dallas Renegades have established a reputation for being a difficult team to beat. With the Renegades changing head coaches from Bob Stoops to Rick Neuheisel, they will have different strengths and weaknesses. This could be a difficult game for the Storm, as they face another team that values winning in the trenches on both sides of the ball. In addition, Neuheisel has extensive experience when it comes to building high-powered passing offenses, and that could be a challenge for the Storm’s defense.
Week 9 – Home vs. DC Defenders
Date and Time: Friday, May 22nd at 8 pm EST
Regardless of how well the Orlando Storm have played up until this point of the 2026 season, they will have their hands full against the DC Defenders. The Defenders are the defending UFL champions, and they return with head coach Shannon Harris still at the helm and defensive coordinator Blake Williams leading a traditionally strong defense. Both teams will come into this game with similar game plans involving establishing the run game, stopping their opponent’s run game, and playing aggressive yet sound defense.
Week 10 – Away @ DC Defenders
Date and Time: Sunday, May 31st at 12 pm EST
The season finale should be an intense battle as the Orlando Storm travels to DC in a return trip of their home-and-home series. Both teams will come in with adjusted game plans that should make the game much more intense than last week’s. There is also a good chance this game will determine which of these teams earns a postseason spot. In addition, after a 9-week run of games, both teams will have to manage injury situations that could give either the Storm or the Defenders an advantage in this game.
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