Talia Santos (19-3) is one of the best female fighters in the PFL and one of the top favorites to win the 2024 PFL Women’s Flyweight Tournament, which comes with a $1,000,000 prize. Her first obstacle to the title comes in the form of Ilara Joanne (11-8) who’s seen as a huge underdog in the April 4 fight.
Before Betting on Talia Santos vs. Ilara Joanne
How the 2024 PFL Women’s Flyweight Tournament works is that the top four fighters in the regular season will advance to the knockout phase. The first round of the regular season is on the program on Thursday, April 4, at Boeing Center at Tech Port in San Antonio, Texas.
Winning the fight means getting 3 points. However, there are also bonus points up for grabs, which are awarded to the fighter who finishes their opponent. The most bonus points one can get is 3, if they win the fight in the first round.
That’s exactly what Talia Santos will try to do against Ilara Joanne. Santos is a great finisher with 10 wins by KO and three wins by submission in her portfolio. She’s also eager to get back on the winning track given that she lost her two previous fights.
Both of those happened in the UFC and both times, she lost by decision. The first of those was against Valentina Shevchenko in the UFC Women’s Flyweight title fight. The other one was against rising star Erin Blanchfield who beat her by a split decision last summer.
When it comes to Joanne, she’s also without a win for more than a year. She lost her two previous fights, each time in Bellator. In her most recent fight, we saw Jene Bishob beat her by submission in the first round.
Talia Santos vs. Ilara Joanne Offshore Odds & Pick
| Offshore Sportsbook | Talia Santos | Ilara Joanne |
| BetOnline | -550 | +440 |
| MyBookie | n/a | n/a |
| BetUS | n/a | n/a |
| SportsBetting.ag | -550 | +440 |
| XBet | n/a | n/a |
Talia Santos was originally meant to fight Denise Kielholtz in the 2024 PFL 1. However, Kielholtz was replaced by Ilara Joanne some 10 days before the event. Even if Joanne had a full camp to prepare for this fight, we’d still pick Santos to beat her.
This way, however, we think that Santos is going to have an even easier job. She’s a Muay Thai expert who knows how to land powerful strikes, which is why we think she’s going to finish her opponent in the first round by KO/TKO.
