The former MMA champion and Olympic wrestler Ben Askren is recovering from a double pulmonary transplant.
Askren’s wife, Amy, shared the update in an article on Facebook on Monday.
“We are so grateful to share that Ben received a double pulmonary transplant,” she wrote. “We are forever grateful to the donor and his family. This is the beginning of a new lifestyle for Ben, but every new day he has, it is a gift. He still does not feel real that he was walking entirely in good health five weeks ago. So much can change so quickly. Please keep Ben in your prayers that his body has welcomed the new lungs at the moment. In the coming weeks.
Askren, 40, fights pneumonia in a Wisconsin hospital for several weeks. He took support from the fan on June 17 and was added to the transplant waiting list on June 24, according to his wife.
Askren won three Big 12 championships and two NCAA division I championships in Missouri, adding gold medals to the 2005 Pan American championships and at the 2009 world championships. He reached the quarterfinals at the 2008 summer Olympic Games in Beijing.
He went to the octagon after his wrestling career and compiled a 19-2 file with a non-counter in 22 MMA fights. Askren became the Weeter Weight Champion of Bellator in 2010 and made his UFC debut in 2019. He lost two of the three UFC fights, including a five -second direct elimination defeat against Jorge Masvidal in Las Vegas at UFC 239.
Askren made an unsuccessful boxing start on April 17, 2021, losing against Jake Paul by Tko in the first round.
– Field level media
