ICF 13 Post-Event Interview with Brandon Demastes (9/9/09)

After the recent ICF 13 event, another person I got the chance to speak to was Brandon Demastes, one of my picks for the Submission of the Night honor. Brandon defeated Wendall Hurless to become the new ICF 155 amateur champ.

(Picture courtesy of On Point Athletics.)

Here is what Brandon had to say after his fight:

Brian Furby: Alright Brandon, how does it feel to be the new ICF 155 (amateur) champ?

Brandon Demastes: It feels great, always good to be a champion.

Brian Furby: How did you feel going into the fight?

Brandon Demastes: I was feeling really confident, but I definitely underestimated his standup game.

Brian Furby: A couple times during the fight, especially at the end of the first round it looked like you were getting frustrated – what was going through your head?

Brandon Demastes: I was frustrated because my whole gameplan was that I knew he was going to brawl with me and I was going to step back and feel him out for a while, but I kept letting my hands down and falling into his game instead of doing what my plan was. That’s why I was frustrated, because he landed a couple blows that were unexpected.

Brian Furby: At the end, you finished with an armbar and even though he picked you up and slammed you, you kept it locked in. What did you think of the finish?

Brandon Demastes: I had the armbar and it wasn’t tight at first but when he picked me up and slammed me, I jerked on it [his arm] a little bit and it made it tighter. Him slamming me was definitely a blessing because that was what made me able to finish him off.

Brian Furby: When do you want to fight next?

Brandon Demastes: Since I’m going to college and everything, I don’t know exactly when I want to fight because training will be difficult but hopefully in the next two or three months or so, so I can have some time to rest up and get a full training schedule going again.

Brian Furby: Anybody you want to give a shout out to?

Brandon Demastes: First and foremost, On Point Athletics and Chad Marsh. Without him, I wouldn’t have had this fight or all this great gear. Steve Stanton, for giving me a chance to fight, all my friends and family for coming out to support me and definitely FightTicker.com, coolest guys around.

Brian Furby: By the way, you’re still wearing the belt, are you going to wear that around for the rest of the night [laughs]?

Brandon Demastes: Probably not, because it’s so heavy and I lose things all the time so I’ll probably let my parents keep it because I’d lose it and it’s really expensive [laughs].