Former UFC star Ben Askren’s wife Amy Askren asked his friends to send “prayers” following her husband’s hospitalization for “severe pneumonia.”
“You may have heard that my husband Ben is going through something,” Amy wrote via Facebook on Saturday, June 7. “He developed severe pneumonia which came on very suddenly. He’s currently in the hospital and unable to respond to anything at this time.”
She went on to thank her followers for sending “prayers for healing and for peace” during this very difficult time for her family.
“We are trying to keep life as normal as possible for our [three] children currently and doing our best to support them thoughtfully so please refrain from discussing it with them for now,” she explained.
According to CBS News, Ben, 40, developed pneumonia after initially being diagnosed with a staph infection. Amy released her statement amid rumors about Ben’s condition spreading within the MMA community via social media.
UFC legend Chael Sonnen initially responded to the community by confirming via X, “Ben is alive and prayers are wanted. Family choosing privacy at this time.”
The Askrens have been married since April 2010 and share three children: daughters Alex and Andy, as well as son Ozi. The most recent episode of his “Funky and the Champ” podcast was published on May 27, and he shared some intense fight training via Instagram the following day.
Ben signed with UFC in 2018, after holding Bellator’s Welterweight World Championship and achieving an undefeated streak for more than a decade. He retired from MMA in 2019. More recently, Ben lost a highly-publicized boxing match against Jake Paul by TKO in the first round in April 2021.
The veteran fighter announced in May that he’d signed an exclusive contract with Real American Freestyle, the new wrestling company owned by Hulk Hogan and former World Championship Wrestling executive Eric Bischoff.
“I’ve been waiting to wrestle,” he explained via X in May. “I’ve missed competition. Like, I love fighting but I don’t have time for that anymore. I definitely don’t do any jiu-jitsu. I’m going to wrestle someone! I’m going to whoop some of these young whipper-snappers! I’m going to show [my opponents] what the f*** it’s all about.”
Ben revealed that “one of [his] life’s missions” was to help a “professional wrestling league succeed in America,” so he jumped at the chance to join Hogan’s federation.
“When I heard these guys pitch [the concept], I thought, ‘Wow! You guys have got some great ideas. You’ve got some great resources. You’ve got some great people behind you. I think you guys can really make this happen,’” he recalled. “Guys, Real American Freestyle kicks off this fall! I’m going to come whoop some of these young whipper-snappers. They ain’t gonna know what hit them when I get done with them.”
Bischoff welcomed Ben to Real American Freestyle by responding via X in May, “Oh Ben…we are gong [SIC] to have so much fun. Kicking ass.”
Ben’s impressive grappling record includes winning the Pan American Championship in 2005 and competing on the 2008 US Olympic Team in freestyle wrestling. He won the Dan Hodge Trophy — amateur wrestling’s equivalent of the Heisman Trophy — in folkstyle wrestling in 2006 and 2007.
