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Former UFC fighter and Olympic wrestler Ben Askren will fight for the first time in nearly seven years after undergoing a double lung transplant.
Last year, Askren was on a ventilator and ECMO (extracorporeal membrane oxygenation), and his wife, Amy, even went so far as to say he needed a “miracle.”
Well, the miracle happened and now a comeback is on the horizon.
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Ben Askren attends a press conference for Triller Fight Club’s inaugural 2021 boxing event at The Venetian Las Vegas on March 26, 2021. (Ethan Miller/Getty Images)
Askren will face former UFC welterweight champion Belal Muhammad in a wrestling match at Real American Freestyle 11 on July 18, his 42nd birthday, in Milwaukee. The RAF was co-founded by the late Hulk Hogan.
Askren”developed severe pneumonia “which happened very suddenly” last June, Amy said, and he was finally put on life support. Askren was placed on the transplant list on June 24 and received an organ from a donor days later.
Askren later said he remembered nothing from May 28 to July 2 and “only died four times” while losing 50 pounds in the hospital. He was discharged from the hospital on July 22 after 59 days.
“It was hard, it was hard. And I said this in one of my videos, but the support that you guys gave me, whether it was sending a GoFundMe, whether it was helping my kids and my wife get through it, I had friends from all over the country come visit me and spend a couple of days, it meant a lot,” Askren said when he was released. “It was great to have all this support and all the love, and I hope I won’t be in this situation again for a long, long, long time. I plan on living for a while.”
Ben Askren is in his corner before his welterweight fight against Demian Maia at UFC Fight Night in Singapore on October 26, 2019. (Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC)
BOXER JAKE PAUL PROMOTES FORMER OPPONENT BEN ASKREN’S PERSEVERANCE DURING FORMER UFC STAR’S BATTLE WITH SERIOUS ILLNESS
Askren said he then turned to Christianity.
“There were many times where they thought he was dead. Like he was dead, that’s the other side,” Askren said in a later interview. “I woke up and decided I was a Christian. So, that’s crazy.
“I went with my wife to church for 15 years because that was part of the deal. I told her, ‘Well, I’m not a Christian, but I’ll support you.’ And it was really strange when I woke up and thought, ‘I have to do it.’ You know? So, that was a little strange.”
Former UFC interim welterweight champion Colby Covington will also fight at the event.
The 41-year-old was an NCAA champion in the 170-pound division in 2006 and 2007 and then competed for Team USA at the 2008 Olympics. He won gold medals at the 2005 Pan American Championships and the 2009 World Championships. He made his full transition to MMA when he debuted in Bellator in 2010. He then competed in ONE Championship before join UFC.
He defeated Robbie Lawler via submission at UFC 235 before losing to Jorge Masvidal in a high-profile fight. Askren retired from mixed martial arts in 2019 after compiling a record of 19-2, with both losses in his three UFC fights.
UFC fighter Ben Askren awaits the start of a middleweight mixed martial arts fight between David Branch and Jared Cannonier at UFC 230 in New York on November 3, 2018. (Julio Cortés/AP)
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In 2021, he fought Jake Paul in a boxing match.
