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Ex - Olympic wrestler and MMA standout Ben Askren revealed on social media Wednesday that he recently underwent a double lung transplant and is now in recovery following a serious battle with pneumonia.
In a video posted to Instagram, Askren shared that he remembers very little from the period between late May and early July. His wife, Amy, had previously posted on social media that Askren was placed on a ventilator in June and officially added to the lung transplant donor list on June 24.
"I have no memory—none at all—of what happened during most of those six weeks," Askren said. "Reading through my wife’s journal felt like watching a movie. It’s surreal. Apparently, I died four times—my heart actually stopped for around 20 seconds each time."
During his 45-day health crisis, Askren said he lost roughly 50 pounds.
“What really struck me was the outpouring of love I felt,” he said. “It was like being present at my own funeral.”
Askren, now 40, was born in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, but has long been based in Wisconsin, where he operates a youth wrestling academy. A two-time NCAA champion at Missouri, he represented the U.S. at the 2008 Summer Olympics before transitioning to MMA. His professional fighting career included stints with Bellator, ONE Championship, and the UFC.
He retired from MMA in 2019 following a loss to Demian Maia, ending his career with a 19-2 record and one no contest. In 2021, Askren briefly returned to combat sports for a high-profile boxing match against YouTuber Jake Paul. The fight ended in a first-round TKO victory for Paul and sold around 500,000 pay-per-view buys.
