‘I only died four times’: Ex-UFC star Ben Askren shares shocking health update after double lung transplant

Former UFC fighter Ben Askren shared an update on his health on Wednesday, June 9, 2025, just a week after he received a double lung transplant. In a video shared on Instagram, Askeren spoke about his recovery and revealed that he “died four times” before having a double lung transplant after developing pneumonia following a bacterial infection. He also said that he “can’t recollect” what happened between May 28, 2025, and July 2, 2025.

Askren, who retired from MMA in 2019 after a short stint in the UFC, was admitted to the hospital in Wisconsin in June 2025 and placed on a ventilator and put on the transplant list. In a video from his hospital bed, the American said he has lost 50 lb (more than three and a half stone, or 22.7 kg) in 45 days. "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 when the ticker stopped for about 20 seconds. That's not ideal,” he said

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"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 weighed 147 pounds. I haven't been 147 pounds since I was 15 years old. So, I lost like 50 pounds in 45 days. Man, that was a battle. Other than that, I don't remember most of it," he added.

Askren, a former MMA champion and Olympic wrestler, thanked fans and the wrestling community for all the wishes and said he is "more motivated than ever" to get back in shape and do what he can to help out. "The thing that was most impactful to me was all the love I felt from everybody," he said. "It was almost like I got to have my funeral. Right?"

Askren's wife, Amy, wrote on Facebook in June 2025 that her husband was "completely healthy just five weeks ago," before he became ill. The couple has three children. Influencer-turned-boxer Jake Paul, who beat Askren in a boxing match in 2021, made a public plea for donations to be made for his recovery last week.

Askren is considered one of the best American wrestlers of his generation and was a welterweight champion in Bellator and One Championship. He was undefeated in 20 fights when he signed for the UFC in 2019, in what was an unusual move in MMA. Askren retired from MMA with 19 wins in 22 fights.

Askren won three Big 12 championships and two NCAA Division I championships in wrestling at Missouri, adding gold medals at the 2005 Pan American Championships and 2009 World Championships. He reached the quarterfinals at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing.

He transitioned to the Octagon after his wrestling career and compiled a 19-2 record with one no-contest in 22 MMA fights. Askren became the Bellator welterweight champion in 2010 and made his UFC debut in 2019. He lost two of three fights in UFC, including a five-second knockout loss to Jorge Masvidal in Las Vegas at UFC 239. Askren made an unsuccessful boxing debut on April 17, 2021, losing to Jake Paul by TKO in the first round.