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Fortune
Fortune
Dave Smith

Former MMA champ Ben Askren says he lost 50 pounds in 45 days after contracting pneumonia and getting a double lung transplant: 'I only died 4 times'

Ben Askren MMA Jake Paul Lung Transplant ONE Pneumonia Dana White UFC Bellator Facebook
Ben Askren flexes (Credit: Al Bello—Getty Images for Triller)
  • Ben Askren, a former MMA champion and Olympic athlete, recorded a video for his 800,000 Instagram followers on Wednesday revealing he lost 50 pounds after contracting severe pneumonia, which resulted in him undergoing a double lung transplant. Jake Paul, who fought and beat Askren in a 2021 pay-per-view boxing match, offered to help pay for Askren’s medical bills because UFC CEO Dana White, and insurance companies, were not “stepping in.”

Ben Askren, a former pro mixed martial arts (MMA) fighter who also represented United States wrestling at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, is awake and talking after surviving one of the most grueling battles of his life—not in the octagon, but in a hospital bed.

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