Yet there’s been a bigger fight that Anderson (18-6, 1NC) has been paying attention to as well: the battle that Ben Askren has been fighting over the past six weeks or so. Askren, suddenly falling ill and suffering a severe case of pneumonia, received a double lung transplant recently. The former Bellator and ONE Championship welterweight star’s sudden health struggle took many by surprise, and Anderson previously opened up about how much Askren had meant to both his personal and professional life.

In an interview with MMA Fighting, Anderson revealed that Askren had encouraged him to pursue MMA, and even invited him to the gym where he met his wife. On Wednesday, during the PFL Africa media day, the former UFC light heavyweight told Cageside Press and other media outlets that seeing Askren talking and breathing under his own power again was “a blessing.”

“It’s great. It’s a blessing. You pray on it, you pray on it. Me and the wife pray on it. I talked to the wife before I came down here, I guess she talked to his wife and they’re still in hospital and they’re recovering and going through things,” Anderson stated. “It’s still a long uproad battle before he’s out and completely fine, but the aspect of seeing Ben talking and breathing again on his own, without a machine pumping him, and interacting with people- he’s sending out text messages now, he’s reposting posts, he’s actually doing posts himself, talking on the camera. That kind of brings tears to your eyes, because at one point in time you’re at the lowest point thinking the guy that kind of helped you find the life you have and helped you find a career and family almost no longer existed.”

Anderson lives four hours away from Askren when he’s not in fight camp, and while he hasn’t been home in a bit, he plans to visit Askren soon. “When this fight is over I’m going to get back and make sure I make it to his house someway, somehow and go see him and tell him exactly how much he really means to me. Show him how thankful I am before, who knows- anything can happen with his new lungs or anything can happen in life, and he’s gone and I’m not able to tell him that.”

Watch the full PFL Africa media day appearance by Corey Anderson above.

The post PFL Africa’s Corey Anderson: Seeing Ben Askren Breathing On His Own “Brings Tears to Your Eyes” appeared first on Cageside Press.

The footage is, needless to say, shocking, with Askren revealing that he has lost well over a month’s worth of memory, and that he “died” (his heart having stopped) four times during his ordeal.

Askren was hospitalized in late May after contracting a severe case of pneumonia, initially being treated in Las Vegas before being transferred closer to home in Wisconsin.

Having referenced his wife’s journal, “I don’t remember anything from May 28 to July 2. No recollection,” Askren stated in a video posted to his social media channels. “No idea. No idea what happened. We’ll kind of go through it all, and I just read through my wife’s journal. It’s like a movie. It’s ridiculous.”

Askren then revealed the multiple brushes with death he has endured in recent weeks. “So I only died four times, where the ticker stopped for about 20 seconds. That’s not really going to help, you guys knowing that. But I got the double lung transplant, I made it out to the other side of it. Gaining quite a bit of strength. Learning to use everything again. I was actually on the scale yesterday, 147 pounds. I haven’t been 147 pounds since 15 years old. So that was like 50 pounds.”

“Man, that was a battle. Luckily I don’t remember most of it,” he continued. “The thing that was most impactful to me was the love I felt from everybody. It’s almost like I got to have my own funeral. I still remember, 30 years ago when Dave Schultz died, listening to all these older people recollect how much they enjoyed him, how much they loved him. And obviously he never got to hear that; I’m sure some people told him. So the outpouring of love from the wrestling community was just amazing. So yeah I’m more motivated to keep getting back and to do what I can and help out the best I can.”

A clearly emotional Ben Askren then added that “this has been tough not only on me but my whole family and my close community. So I appreciate everything,” before adding that he and wife Amy would hopefully provide a more thorough update down the line.

While Askren has a long road ahead of him and a vastly changed life moving forward, seeing him address fans directly is still a great sign.

The post Ben Askren Releases Video Statement Following Double Lung Transplant appeared first on Cageside Press.

The former UFC star, who claimed welterweight gold in both ONE Championship and Bellator MMA, has been hospitalized for weeks, fighting a serious battle against pneumonia. Askren’s wife had previously revealed that a lung transplant was a strong possibility, one that has now come to pass.

“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 Askren wrote in a brief statement posted to social media. “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 the coming weeks Ben will be able to give the next update, but hopefully he will wait until the drugs wear off.”

Askren retired from mixed martial arts in 2019, finishing his career with a record of 19-2, 1NC. The former NCAA Division I wrestling champion returned to combat sports in 2021, losing a boxing match against Youtuber Jake Paul. More recently, he’s appeared on the Funky and the Champ podcast opposite Daniel Cormier.

The fighter’s family are accepting donations via Help Hope Live to cover the procedure.

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Askren’s sudden illness, first reported earlier this month, shocked MMA fans, and saw the star hospitalized with a severe case of pneumonia, first in Las Vegas, and later at a hospital in Wisconsin much closer to home.

In a recent update posted to social media, Askren’s wife Amy shared that the star is now on the waiting list for a lung transplant, and has been able to communicate, even asking for a coffee — which he cannot have at the moment.

“As of late last night, Ben is officially on the transplant list. Please pray he can get stronger and stay stable without complications while he waits, and that they find an amazing match for him and he accepts it smoothly,” Amy Askren wrote. “Also please pray for whoever that Donor may be, and his family. It’s going to be a huge adjustment for Ben, but our family is so thankful that his other organs are ok and that there is a path forward.”

She added that “while he is having more periods of awareness, he’s not able to look at his phone yet and respond to messages,” meaning that Ben Askren himself is still incommunicado for the time being. “I am hoping he can get there in the next week or two! Also hoping we will get to a place soon where he can talk while on a trach. Yesterday he kept mouthing something for a while and we finally figured out he was saying coffee! (He cant have it yet lol). What a huge relief to see him asking for something so normal. I’m so thankful his mind is healthy and I can’t wait to have him back. We are also so thankful for the amazing community we have-from close friends, friends We haven’t talked to in 20+ years, to strangers who have reached out to share their similar stories or pray. Thank you.”

Askren, 40, has not competed in MMA since 2019 but did return to combat sports for an infamous boxing match with Jake Paul in 2021.

The post Ben Askren Added to Lung Transplant Wait List appeared first on Cageside Press.

That, and some troubling news: that Askren, 40, may require a lung transplant.

The former Bellator and ONE Championship welterweight champ, who finished his career with a brief stint in the UFC, was reported as suffering from pneumonia and placed in a medically induced coma in a Las Vegas-area hospital over a week ago. He’s since been transferred to a facility at home in Wisconsin.

Now, it appears Askren’s sedation has at times been lifted enough to allow him to be somewhat responsive. The suggestion of a lung transplant, while not certain, indicates just how serious his condition remains however.

“I haven’t shared an update because Ben has been in limbo for a while and I was hoping to have him wake up and be the one to decide what to share. I’ve had some media people contact me that they are going to share an update and I would rather it come from me,” Amy Askren wrote on social media on Tuesday. “Ben is still on a ventilator and ecmo to support him while he heals. There are good days and bad, but on the good, they have been able to wean his sedation enough for him to open his eyes and squeeze hands. His body can’t handle coming off sedation too much yet. I’m praying for a miracle with his current lungs, but they are currently starting the evaluation process for lung transplant.”

“Please pray for his continued healing, and if transplant is the solution, that he can get on the list quickly and easily. I know transplants are such a blessing and I’m overwhelmed at the thought of him receiving a gift like that,” she continued. “No one would take better care of that gift than Ben.”

“Thank you for every message and all of the support. Despite this awful situation, I’m feeling so blessed by the community we’re surrounded by. Give your love ones a hug today and make sure you’re prepared [for] situations like this. Ben is the healthiest guy I know and I never could have expected this.”

Ben Askren wrapped up his MMA career in 2019 but returned to combat sports for a boxing match with Jake Paul in 2021.

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Following reports on Saturday suggesting he had been stricken with a severe staph infection, Askren’s wife, Amy, revealed on social media that her husband was in hospital after contracting a serious case of pneumonia.

“You may have heard that my husband Ben is going through something. He developed severe pneumonia which came on very suddenly. He’s currently in the hospital and unable to respond to anything at this time,” Amy Askren wrote. “We welcome all prayers for healing and peace. We are trying to keep life as normal as possible for our children currently and doing our best to support them thoughtfully so please refrain from discussing it with them for now.”

Chael Sonnen, a close friend of the fighter, noted that “Ben in alive and prayers are wanted. Family choosing privacy at this time.”

Askren, 40, retired from MMA in 2019 following a loss to Demian Maia under the UFC banner. He’d started his career running up a 19-0, 1NC record, claiming gold in Bellator and ONE Championship, but long being shunned by UFC chief Dana White. When Askren did finally arrive in the UFC, he earned a controversial win over Robbie Lawler before losing back-to-back contests against Jorge Masvidal and Maia.

In 2021, he jumped to boxing, despite being best known for his wrestling, quickly being knocked out by Youtube star Jake Paul. Askren was an NCAA Division I wrestling champion who represented the U.S. at the 2008 Olympics.

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The two-time Olympic gold medalist dominated and submitted a former champion in Holly Holm, announcing her arrival in both the promotion and the bantamweight division. After winning two seasons at lightweight in the PFL, Harrison arrived in the UFC under the microscope (not to mention in the spotlight), one of the biggest free agent signings in years.

That’s the sort of attention you get as the UFC’s first ever double-gold medalist, and despite Dana White dragging the PFL of late, being a double champ there is nothing to sneeze at.

Harrison may be the most decorated Olympian to grace the octagon, however, but she’s far from the only one. Here’s a solid pack of fourteen Olympians who have fought under the UFC banner over the years.

Daniel Cormier

Olympic Result: 4th place, 2004, DNC 2008

As is well known by now, UFC light heavyweight and heavyweight champion, Hall of Famer, and current broadcaster Daniel Cormier’s Olympic dream didn’t end the way he had hoped. After a successful collegiate wrestling career, Cormier joined the U.S. Olympic team and qualified for the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens, Greece. There, the former NCAA Division I All-American with Oklahoma State University came in fourth, losing to Russian Khadzhimurat Gatsalov in the semifinal round.

Four years later, Cormier returned to the games, qualifying for the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, China only to have his wrestling career come to a crashing halt. While cutting weight, Cormier’s kidneys began to fail; he was taken to a local hospital, and later pulled from the games.

Stunningly, Cormier would later compete at 205lbs, several pounds less than the weight that saw his body fail him at the Beijing games. He found massive success first in Strikeforce, winning the promotion’s heavyweight grand prix as an alternate, and later the UFC, becoming a rare simultaneous double-champ.

The post Kayla Harrison, and the Most Decorated Olympians to Fight in the UFC appeared first on Cageside Press.

Maybe that’s why the former Bellator and ONE welterweight champ is ready to jump back into the USADA pool— if he can fight Nate Diaz.

Askren (19-2, 1NC) retired from mixed martial arts after going 1-2 in the UFC, and then was flatlined by Jake Paul in a boxing match earlier this year. That didn’t stop him from making the offer to fight Diaz, after the Stockton native told Paul on Twitter that the wrestler “sucks.”

“He sucks Jake. You’d get smoked n a real fight tho (sic). You can’t really fight. Boxing matches with wrestlers only. Let that sink in,” Diaz tweeted at Paul on Tuesday. That brought Askren into the mix.

“Nate is right, I suck at boxing. He sucks at MMA. If he wants me to prove it I can be in the USADA pool tomorrow. Would be happy to be the last fight on his contract,” Askren responded, pointing out that Diaz currently has just one fight remaining on his UFC deal.

You would have to be an idiot to think Nate beats me in an MMA fight https://t.co/wvabVBoNO1

— Funky 🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸 (@Benaskren) November 23, 2021

Promotion President Dana White has publicly mused about matching up Diaz and current wrecking machine Khamzat Chimaev, a pairing many decried as doing Diaz dirty. Of course, feeding stars to young up-and-comers is a tried-and-true matchmaking technique in MMA, so there would be nothing new there. It still sounds less than competitive, however — with Diaz vs. Askren being a much closer fight in reality.

Askren (19-2, 1NC) last fought against Demian Maia, and wound up submitted in a Fight of the Night effort in Singapore back in 2019. It was his first fight back from the flying knee knockout he suffered in a record five seconds against Jorge Masvidal earlier that year.

Diaz (20-13) has lost back-to-back fights as well, against Masvidal and Leon Edwards.

The post UFC: Ben Askren Willing to Get Back in USADA Pool, Offers to Fight Nate Diaz appeared first on Cageside Press.

Well, that’s that.

After months of build-up, a shuffling undercard, a thousand music acts, and one sad main event, we can shut the door on the first boxing event headed up by the Snoop Dogg and Triller collaborated promotion known as Triller Fight Club. The top “highlights” of the card were a visibly drunk Oscar De La Hoya on commentary, billionaire Joe Fournier knocking out a reggaeton artist, and obviously the main-event fight between Jake Paul and Ben Askren.

Here are three takeaways from the first Triller Fight Club card.

Jake Paul is here to stay, for now at least.

Going into this, Jake Paul was a heavy favorite against former Bellator and ONE welterweight champion Ben Askren, and for good reason. Askren is the worst mixed martial artist striker of recent memory, and possibly of all-time to have any success in the sport. That being said, some thought that Askren’s savvy veteran skills and gas tank might be enough to beat a boxing novice. That was not the case as Askren got flattened in round one, albeit with a controversial stoppage.

So we now know Jake Paul is a good enough striker to controversially beat the worst striker potentially in MMA history. However, this won’t be the last time we see him, not even close. With a buyrate of anything from 1.45 million to 2 million buys on PPV according to a report from BadLeftHook, we will be seeing a lot more of Paul. Who will it be against? Who knows, Dillion Danis appears to be an obvious pick due to Paul wanting a McGregor fight down the road, but we’ll see.

Other names that we could see in the ring with Paul range from Mike Perry to BJ Penn, but one thing is for sure, we will see him again. As sad as it sounds, he’s legitimately one of the biggest boxing stars right now.

Triller’s presentation continues to be excellent.

There’s going to be many cons coming out of this show, however, one thing that nobody can dunk on would be Triller’s presentation. The first Triller card, Tyson vs. Jones killed it with the presentation and did a good job of playing up a fight between two men in their 50’s, and they somehow did it again by getting people interested in a fight between a YouTuber and a 36-year-old former wrestler coming off a hip replacement.

Come fight night, we saw many staples of the first card once again, night lighting, great sound quality, and the video presentation was excellent, especially when previewing the main event. Triller reportedly is attempting to bring cinematic elements into the fights and that’s something that could be appreciated when everything settles down. Promoters never attempt anything new due to the risk/reward being so much bigger when you’re a big company, Triller is trying something new and they deserve credit.

It’s important to remember that years ago, the NFL took aspects from the failed football league known as the XFL. Just because some aspects of a promotion my be… questionable (that’s being kind), doesn’t mean that everything is, and Triller did a great job with the production value of the event and doing new things.

It felt like a complete car crash most of the time.

However, there are times when it is all too much. There were good things, such as Pete Davidson pretty much acting like the sole person there that knows the card is a bit of a joke, even mentioning at times that even having him there is bringing down the event itself. Snoop Dogg also provided a couple of funny moments on commentary as well, however, they were much rarer this time around.

But there are certain things that should never be done in sports, and a six-man booth is one of them. The main event had Ray Flores, Crimefaces, Al Bernstein (poor Al), Pete Davidson, Mario Lopez, and Snoop Dogg all on the call. The conclusion of the fight was nothing but a mix of different people yelling with no real direction. That’s not the only low-light either, as Oscar De La Hoya went viral for his clearly unintelligible commentary during the Mir-Cunningham fight. What should’ve been a nice moment on an otherwise insane card as two legends of their sport put on a fun show, was instead overshadowed by De La Hoya’s yelling.

Also the obvious here, the musical acts. They kind of worked on the first card because it was a couple of popular artists doing one or two tracks with pretty excellent presentation. It felt like a fight card with a music intermission, which was obviously basically what it was. At one point at Askren vs. Paul on Saturday, however, there was one boxing match in two hours of the PPV being live, which is insane. The card was a complete and utter car crash at times.

It’s going to be interesting to see what Triller’s next card does. The first one could sell as the comeback of Tyson, the second one could sell-off of the star-power of Paul, the third one doesn’t have a massive star on it so it’s not going to appeal to the casual masses, and Triller seemingly spent all of Saturday night telling the hardcore fans that Triller Fight Club isn’t for them.

The post Triller Fight Club: Three Takeaways From Askren vs. Paul appeared first on Cageside Press.

It went about as you would expect in a pure boxing match. Askren, who never had much to offer on the feet, was finished early. Knocked down by a wild overhand, with the ref waving the fight off despite Askren appearing ready to continue.

Following the bout, Askren faced the music.

What the ref said after the knockdown:

“I said I’m fine, and he said ‘no you’re not.’ And I said ‘no I am.’ He said ‘no you’re not’ and then he stopped it. He’s in charge, so I can’t really debate him that much.”

On how the blow compared to what he endured in the Robblie Lawler fight:

“I don’t really feel any pain, but I guess it caused me to fall down, so that’s not good.”

On the level of ridicule that’s incoming:

“I probably deserve it. I got knocked out by Jake Paul. That’s f*cking embarrassing.”

How nervous he was ahead of the fight, in comparison to MMA:

“I wasn’t nervous at all, because at the end of the day, my life doesn’t change, one way or the other. In MMA, I was always pursuing or defending a world title, really. Today, I was doing a fun boxing match, and if it turned out great, great, and if it turned out sh*t, my life is the same. So there were really no nerves whatsoever.”

Was it true about Tekashi69 wanting to walk him out for the fight?

“That is true. Then Tyron [Woodley] and two people after him said ‘no way, Jose.'”

On future combat sports endeavors:

“I will not be back again [in boxing]. I will not be in any sort of cage.”

What’s next?

“I’m just going to continue with my life as it was, podcasting and coaching. That’s kind of what I told you guys I was going to do. It is unfortunate, I really did think I could do better. Yeah, that was not fun.”

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