Ben Askren
Reflects On Life-Changing 2025
… Moving In A ‘Positive Direction!!!’
Published
TMZSports.com
Ben Askren‘s life turned upside down in 2025 … he battled severe pneumonia that resulted in a 59-day hospital stay and a double lung transplant … but thankfully, he tells TMZ Sports he’s going into the New Year moving in a “positive direction.”
The former MMA star said at times it feels like his health scare was a “bad dream.” While there’s not much he remembers from those days … he says there are still lessons to take away from the whole ordeal … citing a book called “Finish Empty” by Josh Metcalf, which gave him a good perspective.
“I kind of died once, you know, like for all intents and purposes, left Earth for 40 days,” Askren said. “I had no real communication to anyone. I had no recollection of anything. So I get to kind of reflect on like, okay, had I not woken back up? How do I feel about what I did prior to this time?”
The 41-year-old said he felt really proud of it all … and acknowledged that while there are things he plans on changing … he looks forward to acting on those lessons learned towards his 2026.
So, what’s next for Ben Askren?
Well, there isn’t much lined up right now — but as he continues to get healthy — he believes he can finally start to work on making plans.
TMZSports.com
“They are going to look significantly different,” Askren said. “For example, I can’t go to the wrestling tournaments with my kid, you know, my own biological children. I would like to, which would be very normal. So it’s going to look different. But I feel like I’m finally at that point where I can kind of take a deep breath and easily accomplish the things I need to in the day.”
One thing that is in the books for him is Real American Freestyle, the org. co-founded by Hulk Hogan, and we dive into the first year for RAF … and what’s to come!!
