Ben Askren returns to fight Belal Muhammad after double-lung transplant
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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) along with his wife, Amy, and went so far as to say he needed a “miracle.”
A miracle has happened and a comeback is now 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 heavyweight champion Belal Muhammad in a wrestling match at Real American Freestyle 11 in Milwaukee on July 18, his 42nd birthday. The RAF was co-founded by the late Hulk Hogan.
Askren “developed severe pneumonia Amy said it came on suddenly last June and she was eventually put on life support. Askren was placed on the transplant list on June 24 and received a donor organ days later.
Askren later said he remembered nothing from May 28 to July 2 and that he “just died four times” while losing 50 pounds in the hospital. He was discharged from the hospital on July 22, 59 days later.
“It was hard, it was hard. I already said this in one of my videos, but the support you guys gave me, whether it was sending a GoFundMe or helping my kids and my wife get through this — my friends from all over the country came to visit and hung out for a few days — it meant a lot,” Askren said upon his release. “It’s been so nice to have all this support and love, and I hope I’m not in this situation for a really, really, really long time. I plan on living for a while.”
Ben Askren stands in his corner before his heavyweight bout against Demian Maia at UFC Fight Night on October 26, 2019 in Singapore. (Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC)
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Askren said he later converted to Christianity.
“Many times they thought I was dead. It’s like I was dead, and this is the other side,” Askren said in a later interview. “I woke up and decided I was a Christian. So this is crazy.
“I went to church with my wife for 15 years because it was part of the agreement. I said, ‘I’m not a Christian, but I’m going to support you.’ And when I woke up, it was really weird, I was like, ‘I’ve got to do this.’ You know what? So it was kind of weird.”
Former UFC interim heavyweight 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 went on to compete 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 in 2010 when he made his Bellator debut. He later competed in ONE Championship before joining the UFC.
He defeated Robbie Lawler at UFC 235 before losing to Jorge Masvidal in a high-profile bout. Askren retired from mixed martial arts in 2019 after posting a 19-2 record, with both losses coming in three UFC fights.
UFC fighter Ben Askren waits for the start of the middleweight mixed martial arts bout between David Branch and Jared Cannonier at UFC 230 on November 3, 2018 in New York. (Julio Cortez/AP)
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In 2021, he fought Jake Paul in a boxing match.
Fox News’ Ryan Gaydos contributed to this report.
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