Former UFC fighter Askren gets double lung transplant

After being hospitalized with “severe pneumonia,” former UFC fighter Ben Askren has undergone a “double lung transplant.”

After a brief appearance in the UFC, Askren, 40, abruptly retired from MMA in 2019.

In addition to being on the transplant waiting list, Askren was earlier this month admitted to a hospital in Wisconsin.

His wife Amy reported that Amy’s husband was “completely healthy just five weeks ago” on Facebook.

The donor and his family are forever in our hearts. Ben has just begun a new lifestyle, but she said, “Every day he has a gift,” she said.

“I’m hoping Ben will be able to give the next update in the coming weeks, but I’m hoping he won’t wait until the drugs are gone.”

Askren won the welterweight title in Bellator and the ONE Championship, and he is regarded as one of the greatest American wrestlers of his generation.

Before joining the MMA ranks, Askren was a two-time national champion in wrestling and a member of the 2008 American Olympic team.

When Askren signed for the UFC in 2019, in what was a unique MMA move, he was unbeaten in 20 fights.

Demetrious Johnson, the UFC’s flyweight champion, traded For Askren for ONE Championship.

It was a huge shock at the time in 2018 because it is the only “trade” that has ever occurred in major MMA.

Askren, who made his UFC debut against Robbie Lawler, lost to Demian Maia and Jorge Masvidal, who were wildly popular.