Ben Askren Reveals He "Died Four Times" During Pneumonia Battle

MMA great Ben Askren has spent years enduring the rigours of the octagon, but nothing could prepare him for the fight of his life outside of it. In a raw, emotional update, the 40-year-old fighter revealed the harrowing details of his near-death experience with severe pneumonia, one that robbed him of his memory about more than a month of his life and brought him to the brink of death on multiple occasions.

Askren posted a heartbreaking video message from Minten to his Instagram on July 9 while sitting in his hospital bed, talking about what he's been through. "I don't remember anything from May 28 to July 2, no recollection, no idea," he said. Drawing on the detailed journal entries of his wife, Amy, he compared her emotional recounting to the dramatic movie-making. "I only died four times. The ticker stopped for about 20 seconds," he said.

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Renowned for his toughness inside the cage, Askren's mindset moved from fighting into survival mode as he detailed the process he underwent just over eight weeks ago when he received a double lung transplant, a grueling, life-saving procedure that pulled him back from the brink. He admitted that it had been a journey starting again from scratch physically. "Gaining quite a bit of strength, learning to do every. I haven't been 147 pounds since I was 15-years-old. So, I lost like 50 pounds in a 45-day period." The illness and its aftermath have been transformative, not only of Askren's physical condition but of his outlook on life and health. His gaunt frame, his beard, his thin face, all of it was a vivid testament to the devastation pneumonia had wreaked on his body. Yet, his spirit remains unshaken.

Despite the weight loss and battle ahead, the Funky & The Champ podcast host was thankful he had been given a second chance. It is a tale of survival, a testament to resilience and the human will to fight on when the odds are stacked against you. Like any good fighter, Ben Askren is fighting back, and he's even getting support from people inspired by his candor. And as fans and fellow players rally around him, his journey from near-death to recovery is a powerful reminder that some of the most formidable opponents in life don't wear gloves.