Ben Askren, the former MMA star and champion wrestler, has survived the fight of his life.
Askren, 41, headed home on Tuesday, July 22 after spending 59 days at the hospital during which he had a double lung transplant, lost 50 pounds and was on ventilator support.
Initially he was hospitalized with a severe case of pneumonia, which led to the lung transplant.
In an emotional video Askren said he was taping Tuesday while driving home from the hospital, he smiled and cried.
‘Day 59, I’m out, with my beautiful wife, supporter,’ Askren said from the front passenger seat. ‘Man, that was a long journey, and it’s not over because I still can’t really walk. I’ve got to reteach myself to do that, among many other things. I guess I can make light of it because it was me, and I don’t really remember it. … I don’t remember 35 days of this journey. I think surgery was 24 or 25 days ago. It was hard. It was hard.’’
In a previous video released July 10, Askren said he “died four times.’’
‘So, I only died four times, where the ticker stopped for about 20 seconds,’’ he said from his hospital bed. “That’s not ideal, you guys know that. But I got the double lung transplant. I made it out to the other side of it — gaining quite a bit of strength, learning to use everything again.’
Askren and his wife, Amy, have three children.
Ben Askren gives thanks for support
‘I said this already in one of the videos, but the support you guys gave me, whether it was starting a GoFundMe, whether it was helping my kids and wife get through it, I had friends come from all over the country to hang out for a couple days,’’ Askren said. “It meant so much. It was so great to just have all the support and all the love. Hopefully I’m not in this situation again for a really, really, really, really long time. I plan on living a while. Thank you guys again for all the positive comments online, everything. It means so much. Love you guys.’
Wrestler Mark Bader, a friend of Askren’s, said last month that Askren’s insurance would not cover the lung transplant that Bader said comes with “astronomical costs.”
A double lung transplant costs almost $800,000 according to a report cited by Help Hope Live, a nonprofit organization that provides double lung transplant financial assistance to patients through crowdfunding, according to its website.
Efforts to raise money for Askren have been set up on Help Hope Live and GoFundMe.
UFC’s Dana White has said he donated money.
Jake Paul did not address a report from The Rugby League Report on Facebook that he donated $500,000 for Askren’s medical costs. But Paul’s business partner Nakisa Bidarian interjected and said Paul has given generously to people in need.
Who is Ben Askren?
Some people might know Askren best for his boxing match against Jake Paul. It did not last long.
They fought in April 2021 at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, and Askren got knocked out in the first round. That overshadowed two decades of accomplishments.
Askren was a two-time NCAA champion and four-time NCAA finalist while wrestling at Missouri from 2003-2007. He won gold medals at the 2005 Pan Am Games and the 2009 World Championships.
The year he competed in the 2008 Olympics, during which he lost in the quarterfinals, Askren made his professional MMA debut – and got rolling. He won his first 19 bouts. That included a victory in 2019 over former UFC welterweight champion Robbie Lawler in Askren’s UFC debut.
But Askren lost his next two fights and shortly thereafter announced his retirement from MMA.
Before his hospitalization, Askren had been coaching youth and high school wrestlers at The Askren Wrestling Academy, which offers classes and camps and has seven locations, according to its website.