Former UFC fighter and Bellator champion Ben Askren posted a video update on his health Wednesday on Instagram, just over one week after he underwent a double lung transplant. In the video, Askren discusses his recovery as well as sharing some scary details, including losing roughly 50 pounds in 45 days, and that his heart stopped several times during his scary battle with severe pneumonia.
“I haven’t given you an update in a while,” Askren said in the video. “I figure you deserve one. Whenever this is all the way over — I actually just read through my wife’s journal because I don’t remember anything from May 28 to July 2. No recollection, zero idea, no idea what happened. We’ll kind of go through it all. I just read through my wife’s journal. It’s like a movie. It’s ridiculous. So, I only died four times were the ticker stopped for about 20 seconds. That’s not ideal.
“But, I got the double lung transplant and made it to the other side of it. Gaining quite a bit of strength. Learning to use everything again, I was actually on a scale yesterday and 147 pounds. I haven’t been 147 pounds since 15 years old. So, I lost like 50 pounds in a 45-day period. Man, that was a battle. Other than that, I don’t remember most of it.”
Askren, a 40-year-old father of three children, developed pneumonia following a staph infection. He was hospitalized in his home state of Wisconsin.
As news spread about Askren’s condition, there was an outpouring of support from both the mixed martial arts and amateur wrestling communities.
“The thing that was most impeccable to me was all the love I felt from everybody,” Askren said. “It was almost like I got to have my own funeral. … The outpouring of love from the wrestling community was just amazing. It felt so good. So, I’m more motivated than ever to get back and do what I can to help out the best I can. I love you guys. I appreciate you guys. This has been tough, not only on me, but on my whole family and close community. I appreciate everything. Hope you guys appreciate the update. Like I said, somewhere down the road, maybe Amy and I can detail everything a little more.”
Askren transitioned to MMA after an amateur wrestling career that saw him represent the United States in the 2008 Summer Olympics. He quickly found success in the cage after winning the Bellator Season 2 welterweight tournament before capturing the welterweight title in 2010.’
Askren successfully defended his title four times before signing a deal with ONE Championship. He also captured welterweight gold in ONE, running his career record to 18-0 before being acquired by the UFC in a rare promotional “trade” that sent Demetrious Johnson to ONE. Askren won his UFC debut against Robbie Lawler, but back-to-back losses to Jorge Masvidal and Demian Maia led to his retirement from MMA in 2019.
Askren delivered one more professional combat fight, entering the boxing ring in 2021 to face influencer-turned-boxer Jake Paul. Askren, visibly unmotivated for the contest, lost by first-round TKO.
