The 22-year-old Milwaukee native stumbled in his return to flyweight in March, losing to Ryan Benoit. But the younger brother of former UFC lightweight champion Anthony Pettis rebounded with a strong all-around performance Saturday night against Chris Cariaso.
Pettis won via unanimous decision, taking scores of 29-27, 29-27, 29-28.
Pettis, who appeared considerably larger than his opponent, set the tone early when he caught an attempted Cariaso kick and deposited him on the mat. Cariaso got out of that predicament, but later in the round, Pettis dropped Cariaso to the mat with a straight right hand.