His next competition, the 2012 Dubai Marathon, again featured a fast field and saw many athletes run under two hours and six minutes. Deressa was among them, recording a time of 2:05:42 and finishing in eighth place just behind Abdullah Dawit. A few months later he had his first win in Europe. At the Prague Marathon he was the front runner after the half-way point and gradually increased his lead to win the race in a time of 2:06:25 hours (the second fastest recorded on the course at that point). At the 2012 World Half Marathon Championships, he ran a well-controlled race and won the silver medal, in a time of 1:00:51 hours - a new personal best. The Frankfurt Marathon saw him place second behind Patrick Makau with a run of 2:06:52 in chilly conditions.