Askren Schedules Wrestling Bout Ten Months After Double-Lung Transplant

Askren Schedules Wrestling Bout Ten Months After Double-Lung Transplant

Ben Askren, the former UFC welterweight and two-time NCAA wrestling champion, is set to compete in a wrestling match on July 18 – his 42nd birthday – less than a year after receiving a double-lung transplant that followed a life-threatening bout of severe pneumonia and an extended stay on mechanical life support.

Askren will face former UFC welterweight champion Belal Muhammad at Real American Freestyle 11 in Milwaukee. The bout marks his first competitive appearance since his 2021 boxing match against Jake Paul and his first wrestling competition in roughly seven years. Askren was hospitalised last June after developing severe pneumonia, was placed on a ventilator and extracorporeal membrane oxygenation – a form of advanced cardiac and respiratory support – and was added to the transplant list on June 24. He received a donor organ days later. By his own account, he lost approximately 50 pounds during the ordeal and has said he has no memory of the period between May 28 and July 2. He was discharged from hospital on July 22 after 59 days.

Askren’s competitive record spans multiple organisations and disciplines. He won NCAA Division I titles at 170 pounds in 2006 and 2007, represented the United States at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, and claimed gold at the 2005 Pan American Championships and the 2009 World Championships before transitioning to professional MMA. He debuted in Bellator in 2010, later competed in ONE Championship, and joined the UFC where he finished his MMA career with a 19-2 record in 2019.

Former UFC interim welterweight champion Colby Covington is also scheduled to compete on the Real American Freestyle 11 card. No further bout details for the event were disclosed in available materials.