Ben Askren has now undergone a double lung transplant, the former UFC star’s wife announced.
Worrying rumours regarding Askren’s health first began circulating earlier this month before Amy Askren confirmed publicly that her husband had been hospitalised in Wisconsin with severe pneumonia following a staph infection.
She later said that Askren was sedated on a ventilator and receiving ECMO support, added to the transplant list after an initial evaluation process.
However, there were reports that his medical insurance would not cover such an expensive surgery, leading to public fundraising efforts promoted by the likes of former boxing opponent Jake Paul.
Askren’s wife - with whom he shares three children - has now confirmed in her latest social media update that Ben has had the transplant and is currently recovering.
“We are so thankful to share that Ben has received a double lung transplant,” Amy Askren wrote on Facebook. “We are forever thankful to the donor and his family.
“This is the beginning of a new lifestyle for Ben, but every new day he has is a gift. It still doesn’t feel real that he was walking around completely healthy just 5 weeks ago. So much can change so quickly.
“Please keep Ben in your prayers that his body welcomes the new lungs as if they were his own. I am constantly in awe of all the people carrying us through right now. I can’t wait to tell Ben all about It.
“I’m hopeful that in coming weeks Ben will be able to give the next update, but hopefully he will wait until the drugs wear off.”
Askren had a three-fight run in the UFC back in 2019 before retiring, beating Robbie Lawler by submission before losing to both Jorge Masvidal and Demian Maia.
He had previously reigned as the welterweight champion in Bellator and later ONE Championship, unbeaten in his professional MMA career for a decade ahead of a switch to the octagon.
Askren’s only professional boxing match came against Paul, who knocked him out in the first round of their high-profile contest in Atlanta in 2021.
The 40-year-old - nicknamed ‘Funky’ - was also a decorated amateur wrestler, a two-time NCAA Division I national champion at the University of Missouri who went to the 2008 Olympics in Beijing with the United States.
