Ben Askren, the retired mixed martial artist, was hospitalized with a severe case of pneumonia, which resulted in a double lung transplant. A month after his wife, Amy Askren , shared her husband’s medical scare, he shared an update on his health in an Instagram video—claiming that he “died four times.”
In June 2025, Amy asked fans for their prayers and noted in one of her Facebook posts that Ben “is the healthiest guy I know, and I never could have expected this.” Weeks later, he explained in his video that he had “no memory, zero idea, no clue what happened.”
“I just read my wife’s diary. It’s like a movie,” Ben said from his hospital bed. “It’s ridiculous. I’ve only died four times, where the ticker stopped for about 20 seconds.”
Below, see all the updates on Ben’s health and find out what happened to him.
Why did Ben Askren need a double lung transplant?
Ben’s pneumonia battle worsened to the point where he needed a double lung transplant. In the weeks leading up to his surgery, Amy updated fans on his condition. On June 7, 2025, she wrote on Facebook: “You may have heard that my husband Ben is going through something. He developed severe pneumonia that came on suddenly. He is currently in the hospital and is unresponsive at this time.”
At the time, Amy also noted that she was “trying to keep life as normal as possible for our children right now and doing what we can to support them, so please refrain from discussing it with them for now.”
On June 17, Amy said her husband was on a ventilator and still under sedation.
“I haven’t shared an update because Ben has been in limbo for a while, and I was hoping he would wake up and be the one to decide what to share,” she began. “I’ve had a few media people contact me who will share an update, and I’d prefer it to come from me. Ben is still on a ventilator and ECMO [Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation, a lung-support system] to support him as he heals. There are good days and bad, but on the good, they were able to wean him off sedation enough for him to open his eyes and shake hands. His body can’t handle too much sedation.”
While noting that she was “praying for a miracle with [Ben’s] current lungs,” Amy said that doctors were “starting the evaluation process for the lung transplant.”
Ben Askren’s Health After His Double Lung Transplant
On July 9, 2025, Ben shared an Instagram video from his hospital bed. Finally able to speak, the former professional boxer said he couldn’t remember anything he’d experienced and that he relied on his wife’s journal to catch up.
Fortunately, Ben was able to speak, but as seen in his video, he still had trouble with a slight cough.
Ben Askren Weight Loss and Road to Recovery
Ben also mentioned that, because of his illness and lung transplant, he ended up losing about 50 pounds over the course of 45 days. In the Instagram video he shared on July 9th, Ben said the scale read 147 pounds, a weight he hadn’t weighed since he was 15.
“The most impeccable thing for me was all the love I felt,” Ben said, before adding, “It was almost like I had my own funeral.”
What’s next for Ben Askren after his health crisis?
Ben retired from mixed martial arts in 2019 and has not been in the professional ring since. After the health scare, he will likely focus on his recovery and health after his release from the hospital.
