Does UFC heavyweight Curtis Blaydes have a speech disorder?

Yes. Curtis Blaydes has a speech disorder. While Blaydes is an articulate speaker and puts his points across with great composure during media interactions, he has a notable stutter. However, he brilliantly manages his fight against his speech disorder.

Despite the speech disorder, Blaydes has never backed down from fulfilling his media obligations that come with being a UFC fighter.

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Curtis Blaydes recently clarified that his fighting career hasn’t caused his speech disorder

Speaking to the New York Post, Curtis Blaydes opened up on a few notable topics. Amongst these topics was the speech disorder that ‘Razor’ suffers from. Addressing his speech disorder, Blaydes stated:

“I’ve had my speech impediment since… all my life…All I can remember, I [have] had a speech impediment. So it doesn’t have anything to do with getting hit in the head or CTE (chronic traumatic encephalopathy) or anything like that.” [ H/T New York Post]

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Curtis Blaydes' speech disorder stopped him from pursuing a more peaceful career

Intriguingly, Curtis Blaydes had previously planned on pursuing a career as a history teacher. However, he refrained from doing that, insinuating that his speech disorder and young students being mean played a role in his decision. In the aforementioned interview with the New York Post, Blaydes explained why he reconsidered his decision, stating:

“But then I realized kids are mean…I can’t be in a classroom with them for eight hours.” [ H/T New York Post]

He added:

“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.” [ H/T New York Post]

Curtis Blaydes suggested that the misconception which certain people have – whereby they feel individuals with speech disorders are unintelligent – “annoys” him. Blaydes reiterated that having a speech disorder and being intelligent aren’t mutually exclusive. A person suffering from a speech disorder medical condition can still be incredibly intelligent.

The transition to a career in mixed martial arts has served Blaydes well as he has risen to become one of the best heavyweight contenders of his generation. While he is yet to stake a claim at the UFC title, Blaydes is the No.5-ranked contender in the promotion and could be a few wins away from an undisputed title shot.