Former UFC welterweight and mixed martial arts star Ben Askren is recovering in hospital after undergoing a double lung transplant over the weekend.
Ben’s wife, Amy Askren, shared the positive update on social media Monday morning.
“We are so thankful to share that Ben has received a double lung transplant,” she wrote. “We are forever thankful to the donor and his family. This is the beginning of a new lifestyle for Ben, but every new day he has is a gift. It still doesn’t feel real that he was walking around completely healthy just 5 weeks ago. So much can change so quickly. Please keep Ben in your prayers that his body welcomes the new lungs as if they were his own. I am constantly in awe of all the people carrying us through right now. I can’t wait to tell Ben all about it.”
Askren was hospitalized in early June with a severe case of pneumonia after the 40-year-old retired fighter contracted a staph infection.
The Iowa native, who lives and coaches wrestling in Wisconsin, has been on a ventilator and ECMO machine (extracorporeal membrane oxygenation) since mid-June. Askren was placed on the lung transplant wait list one week ago.
“I’m hopeful that in coming weeks Ben will be able to give the next update, but hopefully he will wait until the drugs wear off,” Amy Askren added in her Monday post.
Beginning last week, the family had started a fundraising campaign by selling custom t-shirts with the proceeds going to help pay for his medical bills.
Askren was Bellator MMA’s longtime 170-pound champion and also won ONE FC’s welterweight title before his contract was transferred to the UFC in 2018.
Askren’s UFC career only lasted one memorable year as he defeated former UFC welterweight champ Robbie Lawler in his promotional debut, then lost to Jorge Masvidal and Demian Maia all in 2019.
He also participated in one boxing match in 2021 when he became Jake Paul’s third professional opponent and the first MMA fighter to challenge the YouTuber-turned-boxer. Paul spoke about Askren’s situation recently during press events for his boxing match with Julio César Chávez Jr., which he won. Paul wished Askren well and said he wanted to help with the donations.
Before beginning mixed martial arts in 2009, Askren was a standout amateur freestyle wrestler, a two-time Division 1 collegiate national wrestling champion and represented the United States at the 2008 Summer Olympics.
Askren has dedicated his post-fighting career to coaching.
— With files from Mike Johnston
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