Grapple At The Backyard
Former MMA champion and Olympic wrestler Ben Askren is recovering from a double lung transplant.
Askren’s spouse, Amy, shared the replace in a Fb publish on Monday.
“We’re so grateful to share that Ben has obtained a double lung transplant,” she wrote. “We’re endlessly grateful to the donor and his household. That is the start of a brand new way of life for Ben, however each new day he has is a present. It nonetheless would not really feel actual that he was strolling round fully wholesome simply 5 weeks in the past. A lot can change so shortly. Please preserve Ben in your prayers that his physique welcomes the brand new lungs as in the event that they had been his personal. I’m continuously in awe of all of the folks carrying us by way of proper now. I can not wait to inform Ben all about it. I am hopeful that within the coming weeks, Ben will be capable of give the following replace.”
Askren, 40, has been battling pneumonia in a Wisconsin hospital for a number of weeks. He went on ventilator assist on June 17 and was added to the transplant ready record on June 24, based on his spouse.
Askren received three Huge 12 championships and two NCAA Division I championships in wrestling at Missouri, including gold medals on the 2005 Pan American Championships and 2009 World Championships. He reached the quarterfinals on the 2008 Summer time Olympics in Beijing.
He transitioned to the Octagon after his wrestling profession and compiled a 19-2 document with one no-contest in 22 MMA fights. Askren turned the Bellator welterweight champion in 2010 and made his UFC debut in 2019. He misplaced two of three fights in UFC, together with a five-second knockout loss to Jorge Masvidal in Las Vegas at UFC 239.
Askren made an unsuccessful boxing debut on April 17, 2021, shedding to Jake Paul by TKO within the first spherical.
–Area Stage Media
