LAS VEGAS – Jussier Formiga (22-5 MMA, 8-4 UFC) continues to show increased comfort on the feet but ultimately went to his grappling strength to earn a judges’ nod over Sergio Pettis (17-4 MMA, 8-4 UFC).

The flyweight bout closed out the preliminary card of today’s UFC 229 event at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. It aired on FS1 following additional prelims on UFC Fight Pass and ahead of the main card on pay-per-view.

Both fighters were patient to start, moving well but cautious of the other’s advances. Perhaps surprisingly, it was Formiga’s quick punches that seemed to find the mark most often in the early going, though Pettis seemed relatively unaffected by the blows. Formiga seemed comfortable on his feet, looking a few times at the legs but ultimately standing upright and trading shots. A brief scramble to the floor in the final two minutes didn’t net a takedown, and the action remained on the feet, though a perfectly timed shot shortly after saw Formiga settle into Pettis’ guard. Formiga had trouble advancing from there, but he did finish the round in top position.

The two continued to trade on the feet in the second, with neither man having a clear advantage. Pettis through the straighter blows, but Formiga was able to answer back with wide blows. Still, Formiga did eventually get inside with a little more than a minute remaining, getting inside on a single-leg and pulling Pettis to the canvas. Again, he struggled to get any real offense going once there, with Pettis doing a fantastic job of retaining guard and then scrambling to his feet just at the bell.

Pettis looked to push the pace in the third, hoping to get something going on the feet. However, Formiga was able to get deep on a single and then turn Pettis before scrambling to his back. With Pettis standing, Formiga hopped to his back and latched a figure-four around the body. Firmly in place, Formiga went hunting for the choke, using punches to clear a way for his arm to wrap around the neck. Pettis controlled the other arm to stay alive, but he couldn’t shake free. Formiga stayed firmly on the back and controlled the positioning, leaving Pettis unable to do anything of real value. Pettis elbowed the leg a bit, but he simply couldn’t get free, walking around with Formiga on his back in the final seconds.

In the end, Formiga took home a clear decision win, 30-26, 29-28 and 29-28.

Up-to-the-minute UFC 229 results include:

• Jussier Formiga def. Sergio Pettis via unanimous decision (30-26, 29-28, 29-28)
• Vicente Luque def. Jalin Turner via knockout (punches) – Round 1, 3:52
• Aspen Ladd def. Tonya Evinger via TKO (strikes) – Round 1, 3:26
• Scott Holtzman def. Alan Patrick via knockout (elbows) – Round 3, 3:42
• Yana Kunitskaya def. Lina Lansberg via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
• Nik Lentz def. Gray Maynard via TKO (kick, punches) – Round 2, 1:19
• Tony Martin def. Ryan LaFlare via TKO (kick, punches) – Round 3, 1:00

For complete coverage of UFC 229, check out the UFC Events section of the site.