Former MMA champion Ben Askren receives double lung transplant
WISCONSIN - Former mixed martial arts (MMA) champion and Olympic wrestler Ben Askren is recovering from a double lung transplant.
Askren's wife, Amy, shared the update in a Facebook post on June 30.
'We are so thankful to share that Ben has received a double lung transplant,' she wrote.
'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 five 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 the coming weeks, Ben will be able to give the next update.'
Askren, 40, has been battling pneumonia in a Wisconsin hospital for several weeks. The American went on ventilator support on June 17 and was added to the transplant waiting list on June 24, according to his wife.
Askren won three Big 12 championships and two National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I championships in wrestling at Missouri, adding gold medals at the 2005 Pan American Championships and 2009 World Championships. He reached the quarter-finals 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 three years later signed a two-year, six-fight contract with Singapore-headquartered MMA outfit One Championship. He clinched the One Welterweight championship title in 2014 after beating Nobutatsu Suzuki via TKO.
In 2019, he made his much-anticipated Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) debut. He lost two of three fights in the UFC, including a five-second knockout loss to Jorge Masvidal in Las Vegas at UFC 239.
Citing hip issues, he retired from MMA in November 2019, a month after his third UFC fight, a loss to Demian Maia at the Singapore Indoor Stadium.
Askren made an unsuccessful boxing debut on April 17, 2021, losing to Jake Paul by TKO in the first round. REUTERS
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Asia News Network
7 minutes ago
- Asia News Network
Despite scant resources, Nepal's para-fighters keep kicking
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'Rs100 may sound like nothing, but it's what kept me going,' he said. 'Whether taking a bus or buying a bottle of water, I think a hundred times before spending money. I know I'm getting almost nothing from the state, but at least that amount has kept me going.' Mahata also returns in the evenings from Kirtipur to train with able-bodied taekwondoins, pushing himself to perform at an even higher level. Gold, not survival Inside the training hall, two A4-sized papers hang on the wall: one bears the LA28 logo, the other, the 2026 Asian Games emblem. Mahata taped them up himself. 'Paris was tough,' he said of the Paralympics, where he failed to progress towards a medal. 'But the Asian Games in Japan and the Paralympics in LA—they won't be the same. This time, I'm not training for bronze or silver. I aim for gold.' The ambition has caught on. Amir Bhlon, who took up the sport on October 24, 2021, a date he clearly remembers, begins his morning routine by circling the Satdobato sports complex seven times—his warm-up ritual. 'I'll keep getting better and better,' he said. 'I want to win medals on the biggest platforms.' Each of the athletes shares a similar story: limited financial support, poor job security, and mounting personal responsibilities. 'There are no good jobs for people with disabilities in this country,' said Bhlon. 'I used to work for an online platform—calling clients, reminding them of payment deadlines. But I left to focus on training. How I'm surviving now, even I don't know.' Yet, every morning, they return to that hall, their kicks sharper, their voices louder, and their eyes still locked on a brighter future. Will the medal matter? Lama believes the Paris bronze changed something. 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Straits Times
12 hours ago
- Straits Times
Summer McIntosh, Lukas Martens live up to hype to win World Aquatics C'ships 400m freestyle finals
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Gan, the national record holder in the women's 800m (8:32.37) and 1,500m (16:10.13) was 'pleasantly surprised' she managed to slice 2.5sec off her 400m personal best of 4:12.31, especially as she felt she had not made big strides in the event in the past few years. But having her family and friends in the stands helped in her latest breakthrough. She told The Straits Times: 'I haven't swum in front of a home crowd in a big competition before, so this was very new and exciting for me. 'This national record has definitely been in my sights for a really long time and the 400m is the most challenging for myself because I need to strike a balance between speed and endurance and I haven't really been able to do that for the past couple of years, never really had a major breakthrough, so this national record was a pleasant surprise.' 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Straits Times
12 hours ago
- Straits Times
Women's Copa America highlights inequality in South American women's football
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