After spending more than a month under sedation, Ben Askren finally woke up and provided major updates about his health, following the successful double lung transplant. In late May 2025, ‘Funky’ was rushed to the hospital with complaints of pneumonia, which later developed into pneumothorax, and he needed a transplant to survive. Thankfully, all went well as the entire fighting community rallied to help the former Bellator and ONE champion.
The fighting community started a GoFundMe campaign to raise funds for the welterweight star’s treatment. Rudis, a clothing company, sold T-shirts with the text ‘Funky Strong, Funky Tough’ written in the front along with a picture of Askren. The company forwarded 100% of the proceeds to the Askren family. And Askren’s fellow coaches also participated in the fundraising campaign.
John Mesenbrink, coach and co-owner of Askren Wrestling Academy, helped in raising funds via ‘The Funk Legend Clinic Tour.’ The tour is set to kick off in Missouri on 24 and 25 July. Later, the tour is expected to head to Wisconsin. The coach shared the news through his Instagram profile, and in the caption, he wrote, “On August 13th, ‘The Funk Legend Clinic Tour’ heads to Northwest Wisconsin and the first stop is the wrestling hot spot of Ellsworth!!! This tradition-rich wrestling community will be exploring elite misdirection offense tactics. The objective of misdirection attacks is to create confusion and keep opponents off balance and unable to counter your actions.”
The Askren Wrestling Academy coach continued, “Attend this clinic if you want to jump levels offensively! Sun Tzu, the Chinese General and Military Strategist (771-256 BC) said it best: “Attack him where he is unprepared; appear where you are not expected.” All proceeds from the Funk Legend Clinic Tour go to the Ben Askren Family!”
‘Funky’s family was pretty pleased with the fundraiser project. His wife, Amy Askren, shared the post on her Instagram Story with immense gratitude. In the caption, she wrote, “Thank you coach [John Mesenbrink]!” The coach succeeded in planning two back-to-back clinics in the St. Louis Metropolitan area, and the help came from one of Askren’s friends, Marcus Hoehn, Founder & Head Coach of the Thoroughbred Wrestling Academy in Hillsboro, Missouri.
While Ben Askren was still fighting to survive, Jake Paul accused Dana White of not helping his former fighter. The UFC head honcho shared the link to the GoFundMe page for Askren, but didn’t mention anything about donating to it himself. But the reality was a bit different from ‘The Problem Child’s accusation.
Dana White reveals the truth about helping Ben Askren
During a conversation on the Full Send Podcast, the UFC CEO expressed his relief at the news of Askren’s recovery. Dana White said, “I saw that popping up on my feed. Yeah, he doesn’t even look the same, it’s f—— such a trip. You know the kind of shape you’ve got to be in to go through what that f—— guy just went through? It’s unbelievable,” said Dana White. “I reached out to his wife a few times during the… But you know, she I’m sure was an absolute f—— wreck but it’s good to see him wake up.” But did he really help the former champion financially?
The answer is yes. And he didn’t talk about it because he doesn’t like to reveal the details of such things. During the post-fight press conference for UFC Nashville, White told the media, “I usually don’t talk about this stuff. But yes, I did [support Ben Askren financially]. We reached out to his wife as soon as we heard and told her, ‘If there’s anything you need.’ And yes, I did… I just don’t like talking about that s–t. That’s between us.”
Right now, Ben Askren is on the road to recovery and is trying to regain his strength through rehabilitation. He has already lost 50 pounds during his hospital stay as sedated patients don’t really get solid food. It’ll still take ‘Funky’ a few more weeks to learn and get back to normal life. One thing is certain – Askren is going to value his health more than before. Let us know about your thoughts on ‘The Funk Legend Clinic Tour’?
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