In Photos: Thankful Curtis Blaydes shares snaps with actress Emily Blunt after being invited to a fundraising event
UFC heavyweight Curtis Blaydes joined British actress Emily Blunt at a fundraiser to support people with stutters.
Over the past eight and a half years, Blaydes has solidified himself as one of the best heavyweight mixed martial arts fighters in the world. 'Razor' is a former interim title challenger who holds a promotional record of 13-5 (one no contest), including wins over Junior dos Santos, Alexander Volkov, and Alistair Overeem.
Blaydes was born with a stutter and had to overcome early confidence issues, which he's talked about numerous times throughout his UFC tenure. Nowadays, the 33-year-old has an opportunity to utilize his platform to support others who could be struggling with a speech impediment.
Earlier this week, Blaydes shared several pictures on Instagram of him at a fundraising event for the American Institute of Stuttering. The number five-ranked UFC heavyweight added the following caption to his social media post:
"Thank you to @aisstutter and @emilybluntofficial for inviting me to this fundraising event. It was so inspiring seeing so many people of all ages from teenagers to 55 year olds coming together to celebrate our voices and achievements . I can’t wait to attend another event as well as continually spreading positive messages about why having a stutter doesn’t make you any less of a person and shouldn’t get in the way of following your dreams. #ais #americaninstituteforstuttering #speakfreely #livefearlously"
Take a look at Curtis Blaydes' Instagram photos from the American Insitute of Stuttering fundraiser event below:
What's next for Curtis Blaydes in the UFC?
On July 27, Curtis Blaydes had an opportunity to dethrone Tom Aspinall for his interim heavyweight title. Unfortunately for him, Aspinall proved to be too much at UFC 304, leading to the interim titleholder retaining his throne by first-round knockout to ensure he's next in line for the undisputed strap.
Heavyweight king Jon Jones will defend his gold against Stipe Miocic on Nov. 16 at UFC 309. Regardless of the result, Aspinall is expected to face the winner in a unification bout in the first half of 2025 or compete with the undisputed belt on the line should both men choose to retire.
Meanwhile, Blaydes maintains a strong presence in the division, especially if he can win his next fight. The 33-year-old's problem is he's already fought most of the top 10. Therefore, the UFC could decide to match him up against number seven-ranked Serghei Spivac, who is coming off a win against Marcin Tybura.