The United Football League cancelled the final two weeks of the regular season today.

In a statement released by the league, UFL founder Bill Hembrecht said it was in the best interest of the league’s long-term viability to cancel the regular season and skip straight to the championship game.

The leagues top two teams, the Las Vegas Locomotives and the Virginia Destroyers, will play for the UFL Championship on Friday, Oct. 21 in Virginia at 5 p.m. Las Vegas will be trying to win its third straight UFL Championship.

The Sacramento Mountain Lions will play the Omaha Nighthawks in the UFL consolation game. The game will also start at 5 p.m. 

Paul Pelosi, owner of the Mountain Lions, said that he was disappointed his team was not able to play a full season.

Despite this season’s unexpected end there is still hope for the league’s future.

“The focus on building a blueprint for the long-term success of the league begins immediately with plans to expand to a minimum of six teams for the 2012 season,” Hembrecht said.

The UFL will offer full refunds to those who have purchased tickets for cancelled games. Those tickets can also be used for admission to the UFL Championship Game and consolation game.

Dante Geoffrey can be reached at [email protected]. You can follow him on Twitter: @dantegeoffrey.