When you’re at the peak of your form, all eyes are on you, fans, enthusiasts alike. And when you’ve hung your boots? A name that “used to” mean something to some people. But, thankfully, that’s not what seems to be the case for Ben Askren. The two-time NCAA D1 champ and a 3x Big 12 champ for the Missouri Tigers, and a former UFC welterweight, isn’t having the best time of his life right now, but luckily, he’s not alone in his woes.
Life on the mat, or inside the octagon, is harsh and often unforgiving. So much so that the injuries and bruises you pick up along the way could have an impact long after you’ve had your last bout. Whatever it may be, it seems like the 2008 US Olympic team member Ben Askren’s immune system has been waging a war against a perceived alien entity or one of their own. But the fans aren’t about to just let him slip away.
In a post by The Wrestling Room‘s Pat Mineo on X from June 7, Askren’s misery was shared. “Wrestling community, we need to pray for and rally around @BenAskren who is in critical condition and battling a severe staph infection,” reads Mineo’s post. The ex-MMA fighter’s wife, Amy Askren, took to social media to reveal that Ben suddenly developed a broad-spectrum antibiotic resistant pneumonia and remains unresponsive after being admitted to the hospital.
A jolt without lightning, indeed! The good news is that the wrestling and MMA communities weren’t late to show up with Askren in their prayers hoping for the best after learning about the terrible news. “You got this Ben! Hope he and his family is okay,” one fan wrote, hoping that the champ that Ben Askren is, he would soon be out of the woods.
Wrestling community, we need to pray for and rally around @BenAskren who is in critical condition and battling a severe staph infection.
— The Wrestling Room (Pat Mineo) (@MrPatMineo) June 8, 2025
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