Ben Askren Returns to Wrestling 1 Year After Lung Transplant

Less than a year after his heart stopped beating four separate times, Ben Askren walked into a wrestling arena in Milwaukee to compete one final time.

The 42-year-old Olympic wrestler and former MMA champion nearly died from severe pneumonia last year. After spending 40 days in a coma, he received a double-lung transplant that saved his life.

On July 18, 2026, Askren faced off against former UFC champion Belal Muhammad at Real American Freestyle 11. He lost 6-3, but not before scoring the first three points of the match.

"I started out at such a low point, it's hard to even describe," Askren said. "I couldn't stand up on my own power at one point."

The road back to competition tested limits Askren never knew existed. His new lungs performed well during the match, but his legs gave out in the final period.

He spent months pushing himself to failure during training, never quite sure where his new body's limits were. A viral infection called cytomegalovirus set him back 11 weeks, forcing him onto medications that drained his energy even further.

"It's not like I had a trial run at this," Askren explained. "I decided wherever I'm at on July 18, that's where I'm at. That's going to be good enough."

His doctors weren't thrilled about the comeback attempt. But Askren felt strong enough to control the first two periods before exhaustion caught up with him in the third.

Why This Inspires

Askren's return wasn't about winning. It was about showing up after the kind of health crisis that would sideline most people permanently.

He chose Muhammad specifically because the match would be challenging but not impossible. "I like that he said he wanted to take it easy on me and then he didn't," Askren said with a laugh.

The arena crowd witnessed something rare: an athlete who literally came back from death to compete at a high level one more time. Askren got the proper goodbye he almost never had.

For someone who spent 40 days unconscious, standing on a wrestling mat for six minutes represented its own kind of victory.