On March 9 at UFC 299 in Miami, USA, the American made his first title defense when he defeated the Ecuadorian by unanimous decision.
"I was somewhat surprised. Surprised that the win over Vera came much easier for O'Malley than I expected. He made the fight fun. I expected Sean to win by decision, but I didn't expect such a one-sided win.
O'Malley dominated Vera in this fight, the fight was really one-sided. He left Cheeto no chance. Sean made the fight look easy. That's what surprised me," MMA Junkie quoted Dvalishvili as saying.