Ó£ÌÒÊÓƵ Battlehawks linebacker Pita Taumoepenu on Tuesday was named the 2025 United Football League Defensive Player of the Year.
Taumoepenu led the league with 7.5 sacks and was a key part of a Battlehawks defense that allowed a league-best 16.3 points per game.
He was one of just two players to force three fumbles this season. He finished with 26 total tackles, five for loss.
Taumoepenu was selected by a panel of league and team officials, coaches, players, broadcast partners and media members.
He earned the a similar award in 2023 while playing for Vegas in the XFL.
After spending most of his childhood in Tonga, an island nation in the South Pacific, Taumoepenu moved to Utah in high school and played collegiately at the University of Utah.
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He played in 11 total NFL games across four seasons from 2017-21.
The Battlehawks' season ended Sunday when they lost in the XFL Conference Championship game. The UFL championship will be contested between the DC Defenders and Michigan Panthers on Saturday night in Ó£ÌÒÊÓƵ.
Battlehawks quarterback Max Duggan speaks with the media on Sunday, June 8, 2025, after a season-ending playoff loss to the DC Defenders in Ó£ÌÒÊÓƵ (Video by Ethan Erickson, Post-Dispatch)
