Outside Source
In post on her Facebook page, Amy announced that Ben Askren recently was the recipient of a double lung transplant. As recently as a couple weeks ago, the UFC veteran was fighting for his liffe on a ventilator and an Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation (ECMO) machine.
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“We are so thankful to share that Ben has received a double lung transplant,” Amy Askren 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 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.”
T-Shirt Fundraiser Launched in Askren’s Name
To help support Askren and his family with the cost of medical expenses, a T-shirt fundraiser has been established at rudis.com. Former boxing foe Jake Paul also expressed his support and offered to help Askren following his latest victory this past weekend.
A two-time NCAA national champion wrestler at the University of Missouri and a 2008 Olympian, Askren put his mat skills to good use in the mixed martial arts realm. He made his professional debut in 2009 and went unbeaten in his first 20 fights, capturing titles in Bellator and ONE along the way.
Askren was later part of a historic trade between ONE and the UFC, where the Las Vegas-based promotion dealt former flyweight king Demetrious Johnson to obtain the man known as “Funky.” While Askren submitted Robbie Lawler in his first UFC outing, he wouldn’t fight in MMA again after being finished by Jorge Masvidal and Demian Maia in back-to-back Octagon appearances in 2019.
Askren retired from MMA in November 2019, when he revealed that he would need to undergo hip replacement surgery. More recently, Askren tried his hand at boxing, falling to Paul
This article first appeared at Recent News on Sherdog.com
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