When the Birmingham Stallions and San Antonio Brahmas square off on Sunday, the inaugural championship of the United Football League will be at stake.

If Birmingham wins, the championship would be the third in a row for the Stallions. In the first season of the USFL revival, Birmingham beat the Philadelphia Stars 33-30 in the league championship game on July 3, 2022. The next season, the Stallions defeated the Pittsburgh Maulers 28-12 in the USFL Championship Game on July 1, 2023.

Birmingham’s championship foes no longer exist. They didn’t survive the merger of the USFL and the XFL that created the UFL this year.

But the Stallions’ historical concerns are more recent – an 18-9 loss to the Brahmas on May 25.

“Week 9 wasn’t a fun weekend for us,” Birmingham tight end Jace Sternberger said on Saturday, “starting with the long bus ride to having to ride home on a long bus ride after a tough loss like that. You want to put it behind you, but at the same time, you’re kind of reminded of it every day because you make the same mistake you made from then and you want to get it fixed.

“I think we’re more than ready to redeem ourselves.”

The loss is the only one for Birmingham in its past 18 games.

“We obviously have a challenge ahead of us,” Stallions quarterback Adrian Martinez said, “the only team that has beaten us so far this season, the San Antonio Brahmas, and we’re excited. We get to play in the championship game. This has been the goal since Day 1. I think the first day we all got together, that’s what (coach) Skip (Holtz) told us. Now we’re here and that’s really all there is to it.

“It’s pretty simple. Go beat San Antonio, and I think we have a strong game plan to do it.”

The Stallions and Brahmas meet at 4 p.m. CDT Sunday at the Dome at America’s Center in St. Louis. FOX will televise the game.

The championship contest will match the league’s top defensive team – San Antonio – against the league’s top offensive team – Birmingham.

“I think it’s got the makings to be an unbelievable matchup,” Holtz said.

Mark Inabinett is a sports reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter at @AMarkG1.