Former UFC fighter Ben Askren receives double lung transplant

Some positive news emerged on Monday morning as former UFC fighter Ben Askren continues to battle for his life.

Askren’s wife Amy announced that Ben has received a double lung transplant, and she asked everyone to pray that these new lungs take to Ben’s body as if they were his own. Askren has been hospitalized for several weeks amid a battle with severe pneumonia following a staph infection. Last week, Amy shared that Ben had been added to the lung transplant list and was showing some signs of improvement with more moments of awareness, though he was not able to look at his phone yet and respond to the messages that people have sent him. All of his other organs are doing okay.

“We are so thankful to share that Ben has received a double lung transplant. 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,” Amy wrote this morning. “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.”

The 40-year-old Askren is a legendary amateur wrestler who went on to become a star in MMA with organizations like ONE, Bellator, and the UFC. Before this health battle, he was slated to be part of the new Real American Freestyle amateur wrestling organization that Hulk Hogan and Eric Bischoff are launching.