LAS VEGAS – In a battle of “TUF 28” semifinalists, Leah Letson (5-1 MMA, 1-0 UFC) outworked Julija Stoliarenko (4-3-1 MMA, 0-1 UFC) to pick up a decision win.

The women’s featherweight bout was part of the preliminary card of today’s TUF 28 Finale event at Pearl Theatre at The Palms in Las Vegas. It aired on FS1 following additional prelims on UFC Fight Pass and ahead of the main card on FS1.

The two women engaged quickly at the start of the fight, with heavy punches being thrown shortly after the opening bell. Letson’s punches seemed to land with more authority, and the big left certainly caught her opponent’s attention. Meanwhile, Stoliarenko added kicks to her attacks, and her punches did bust up Letson’s right eye in the early going.

Letson controlled the center almost exclusively, and the pair traded strikes at every opportunity in a bout that kept a steady pace. Letson’s left hand remained the most devastating strike for her, but both women found success with a variety of techniques.

The exchanges started quickly again in the second, with Letson moving to the center but both women willing to exchange. Stoliarenko briefly caught a kick from her opponent but couldn’t capitalize, and the striking continued. Stoliarenko shot from range shortly after but didn’t set up the advance and also came up short. She latched on to a single-leg later in the frame, diving to the floor in hopes of a takedown, but Letson pushed her away and continued her boxing-centric approach.

The two women seemed fresh enough in the third, and the exchanges remained lively. Letson remained in the center to open, but Stoliarenko claimed some momentum by driving forward and netting an outside trip. As Letson tried to scramble up, Stoliarenko jumped on the neck and fell to guard, squeezing on a guillotine that seemed tight for a moment. However, Letson patiently battled through the hold, popping out her head and taking top position.

Letson appeared content to stay in her opponent’s guard, punching when possible, though Stoliarenko held tight underneath and earned a stand-up from referee Chris Tognoni in the final minute. Letson was the busier fighter in the closing stretch, sealing the decision win – though she was forced to wait out a split read, 29-28, 28-29, 29-28.

“I’m so happy I won!” Letson said after the fight. “The choke wasn’t close. I was just stuck in her arms. I was smiling when I was there; I knew I’d be fine.

“It means everything to me to finally be in the UFC. I do this as a full-time job and sacrifice a lot, so this was very important to me. I had to be deployed earlier this year and take a break from training, which was tough, but coming back and making it to the UFC is truly an honor.”

Up-to-the-minute TUF 28 Finale results include:

• Leah Letson def. Julia Stoliarenko via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
• Roosevelt Roberts def. Darrell Horcher via submission (guillotine choke) – Round 1, 4:50
• Tim Means def. Ricky Rainey via TKO (punches) – Round 1, 1:18
• Raoni Barcelos def. Chris Gutierrez via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 2, 4:12

For complete coverage of TUF 28 Finale, check out the UFC Events section of the site.