As Curtis Blaydes prepares for the biggest fight of his UFC career, he’s opening up about a personal challenge he’s faced for years: his speech impediment.
Blaydes, who is known as “Razor,” is set to face interim heavyweight champion Tom Aspinall in the co-main event of UFC 304. This bout represents his first chance to capture UFC gold since his debut with the promotion eight years ago. As he gears up for this highly anticipated clash at Co-op Live in Manchester, Blaydes reflects on how growing up in Chicago with a speech disorder affected him.
In an honest discussion during UFC 304 media day, Blaydes shared his experience with his speech impediment and how it has shaped him:
“I never really saw myself as like a spokesman for speech impediments, but it was my dad… He also had a speech impediment,” Blaydes revealed. “I got it from him. It’s hereditary. It’s not because of CTE. Let’s get that out there. I know I get asked that the most.”
He continued, “I used to… Whenever people asked for my name, I used to go c…c…c… They’d look at me like, ‘Are you special? Do you not know how to pronounce your own name?’ It used to make me feel some type of way. Now I judge them. Are you that ignorant that you think that me as a grown man, I don’t know how to pronounce my own name? I have a speech impediment. I’ve gotten over it, but it took me a while.”
UFC Title Challenger Curtis Blaydes Shares Personal Struggles with Speech Impediment Ahead of UFC 304
Blaydes also spoke about his high school years:
“I was a kid in high school that wouldn’t raise my hand if I knew the answer. I was embarrassed. I didn’t want people to laugh and call that stuff. I just want those people who also have a speech impediment to know that if people are laughing at you, it doesn’t mean anything about you. It means a whole lot more about them and their character.”
Interestingly, Blaydes once considered becoming a history teacher. However, the harshness he experienced from peers played a part in steering him away from that path:
“Kids are mean. I can’t be in a classroom with them for eight hours,” he said in a previous interview with the New York Post. “There [are] so many people who just think, if you cannot speak…medically correct, that you’re not intelligent. Contrary to popular belief, a lot of us who have speech impediments are really, really intelligent.”
With a commendable 13-4 record in the Octagon, Blaydes has faced some of the most formidable names in the heavyweight division. His victories include wins over former champions like Andrei Arlovski and Junior dos Santos. In his last five fights, he has secured four wins against notable opponents such as Jairzinho Rozenstruik, Chris Daukaus, Jailton Almeida, and of course, Tom Aspinall.
Blaydes and Aspinall first met at a Fight Night event in London two years ago. The fight ended abruptly when Aspinall suffered a serious knee injury just 15 seconds in. Since then, Aspinall has been eager for a rematch.
On Saturday night, Aspinall will get the chance to defend his interim title for the first time in over a decade against Curtis Blaydes. It promises to be a thrilling encounter, marking a significant moment in both fighters’ careers.
