Ronda Rousey Prop Bets: Underdog Best DFS Props for the Fight
By Daniel Destler in Mixed Martial Arts News
Published:
- Ronda Rousey and Gina Carano both return to the octagon to square off on May 16th on Netflix
- The best props DFS props for both fighters are on Underdog
- Takedowns? Significant Strikes Landed? Knockouts? Read below to find out more!
Saturday night brings one of the most talked-about combat sports matchups of the year as Ronda Rousey returns to action against Gina Carano in a high-profile showdown streaming live on Netflix. With both fighters carrying massive name value and a long layoff dynamic in play, Underdog Fantasy has rolled out a wide range of DFS props for bettors to attack heading into fight night.
With Underdog releasing a fresh set of DFS projections for the card, I’ll be breaking down my three favorite prop bets for the fight. From striking totals to fantasy points, these are the Underdog picks I’m targeting ahead of Saturday night’s main event.
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DFS Picks for Rousey vs Carano: Underdog Picks Breakdown
Saturday night brings a unique matchup with two names from different eras of women’s MMA meeting under the spotlight, and that creates some interesting value on the Underdog board. With Ronda Rousey’s grappling-heavy style expected to dictate the pace against Gina Carano’s striking background and long layoff, the fight script points heavily toward pressure, clinch work, and control time on the mat.You can claim our Underdog promo code and get your picks in now.
1. Ronda Rousey – Higher Than 1.5 Takedowns
This is the cleanest “style-based” prop on the board because it directly ties into how Rousey wins fights historically. Her entire MMA identity was built around closing distance fast, forcing clinch exchanges, and immediately transitioning into judo throws or body-lock trips. Against a striker-first opponent like Gina Carano, that game plan doesn’t really change even after a long layoff.
The key here is volume of attempts. Even if Rousey isn’t 100% efficient, she doesn’t need to be, he just needs repeated entries. In most versions of this fight script, she’s going to pressure forward, eat the risk of a counter or two, and keep forcing clinch resets until she gets opponents to the mat. That naturally supports multiple takedown attempts, and clearing 1.5 becomes very realistic if the fight goes even slightly according to expectation.
The only real risk factor is ring rust. After years away, timing on entries can be off, and that can reduce early success. But stylistically, this is still her most reliable path, which is why this prop is so attractive.
2. Gina Carano – Lower Than Significant Strikes Landed
This is the most “correlated under” on the card, and it ties directly into Rousey’s takedown prop. Carano’s ability to land meaningful volume is almost entirely dependent on staying upright and having space to work combinations. If she’s forced to defend takedowns early and often, her striking output likely collapses into brief, reactive exchanges instead of sustained offense.
Carano also hasn’t competed at a high level in many years, and that matters more here than in many other matchups. Timing, cardio under pressure, and defensive grappling reactions are all extremely difficult to recreate after that long of a layoff. especially against someone who historically specializes in closing distance and initiating contact.
For this prop to hit, Carano would likely need extended stretches of striking range control. That’s a thinner path if Rousey is consistently marching forward. Even a “competitive” version of this fight still likely reduces Carano’s clean output because she’ll be reacting more than initiating.
3. Ronda Rousey – Higher Than 0.5 Knockouts
This is the highest-variance, but highest-upside look on the card. Rousey is known for submissions, but it’s easy to forget how her finishing sequences often started with explosive entries, heavy top pressure, and opponents getting overwhelmed in transitions. In modern MMA scoring, that pressure sometimes turns into TKO finishes when opponents can’t intelligently defend on the ground or escape mounting pressure.
The value here comes from the price. At 2.6x, you’re essentially being paid for a very specific but realistic path: Rousey lands early pressure, forces a scramble or knockdown, and Carano can’t recover position or defend intelligently under follow-up strikes. It doesn’t require a clean “stand-up KO”, so ground-and-pound stoppages absolutely qualify and are arguably the more plausible version of this hit.
The risk, of course, is obvious: Rousey historically leaned more submission-heavy than knockout-heavy, and long layoffs usually reduce finishing sharpness more than anything else. But if she shows up aggressive early (and this is key), this prop becomes live quickly, because Carano’s defensive grappling reads are likely the biggest question mark in the matchup.
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Danny Destler is a daily fantasy sports (DFS) and sports betting expert. A graduate of Marist University, Dan covers a wide range of sports topics, creating engaging and evergreen content for DFS enthusiasts and casual fans.