{"id":20325,"date":"2025-07-12T22:42:25","date_gmt":"2025-07-12T22:42:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/news-vm.com\/?p=20325"},"modified":"2025-07-12T22:42:25","modified_gmt":"2025-07-12T22:42:25","slug":"former-ufc-fighter-details-dying-four-times-after-common-infection-developed-into-pneumonia","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news-vm.com\/?p=20325","title":{"rendered":"Former UFC fighter details \u2018dying four times\u2019 after common infection developed into pneumonia"},"content":{"rendered":"<header class=\"article-header_header__gD613\">\n<div class=\"article-header_meta__N4zeN\">\n<h2 class=\"summary_summary__q_VAA\">Ben Askren told followers it was like he&#8217;d gone to his &#8216;own funeral&#8217;<\/h2>\n<div class=\"article-header_metaWrapper__P4a1g\">\n<div class=\"article-header_shareLink__FtU9x\">\n<div class=\"share-link_container__q9th7\">\n<div class=\"share-link_desktopTabletShareArrowWrapper__Gchyi\" tabindex=\"0\" role=\"button\" aria-label=\"share live post\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/header>\n<div class=\"content-template_body__RWRhb\">\n<p class=\"text_text__nEn66\"><strong>Former UFC fighter Ben Askren has issued a health update to his followers, revealing he &#8216;died four times&#8217; after contracting a common bacterial infection which developed into pneumonia.<\/strong><\/p><div class=\"uxatt69f61ddc1b9cf\" ><div style=\"width:100%; max-width:1200px; margin:0 auto;\">\n  <a href=\"https:\/\/bolt-casino.com?r=0BFDBF1283\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">\n    <img \n      src=\"https:\/\/news-vm.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/f8693ebb-2018-480f-a2f7-0096810c07f0.jpg\" \n      alt=\"200% Deposit Bonus + 10% Cashback\" \n      style=\"width:100%; height:auto; display:block; border-radius:8px; cursor:pointer;\"\n    \/>\n  <\/a>\n<\/div><\/div><style type=\"text\/css\">\r\n@media screen and (min-width: 1201px) {\r\n.uxatt69f61ddc1b9cf {\r\ndisplay: block;\r\n}\r\n}\r\n@media screen and (min-width: 993px) and (max-width: 1200px) {\r\n.uxatt69f61ddc1b9cf {\r\ndisplay: block;\r\n}\r\n}\r\n@media screen and (min-width: 769px) and (max-width: 992px) {\r\n.uxatt69f61ddc1b9cf {\r\ndisplay: block;\r\n}\r\n}\r\n@media screen and (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 768px) {\r\n.uxatt69f61ddc1b9cf {\r\ndisplay: block;\r\n}\r\n}\r\n@media screen and (max-width: 767px) {\r\n.uxatt69f61ddc1b9cf {\r\ndisplay: block;\r\n}\r\n}\r\n<\/style>\r\n\n<p class=\"text_text__nEn66\">Askren, 40, retired from\u00a0MMA\u00a0in 2019 after securing 19 wins in 22 fights, but he has continued to stay connected to the\u00a0sport\u00a0by regularly sharing videos and posts related to the fighting world for his 77,000 followers.<\/p>\n<p class=\"text_text__nEn66\">The fighter has been quiet on\u00a0social media\u00a0for a few weeks, but he returned on July 9 to shock fans with a video filmed from a hospital bed.<\/p>\n<p class=\"text_text__nEn66\">Captioning the video, &#8220;Update from me, it&#8217;s been a while,&#8221; Askren revealed to his followers that he had &#8216;no recollection&#8217; of anything that happened between the weeks of May 28 to July 2.<\/p>\n<p class=\"text_text__nEn66\">His memory loss came after he developed a staph infection &#8211; a type of infection caused by germs that are commonly found on the skin or in the nose of many\u00a0healthy people.<\/p>\n<p class=\"text_text__nEn66\">According to\u00a0the Mayo Clinic these type of bacteria typically cause &#8216;no problems&#8217;, but they can turn &#8216;deadly&#8217; if they enter your bloodstream, joints, bones, lungs or heart.<\/p>\n<p class=\"text_text__nEn66\">Askren&#8217;s own infection led to him developing pneumonia, and in June he was admitted to a hospital in Wisconsin.<\/p>\n<p class=\"text_text__nEn66\">As his condition worsened, the former fighter was placed on a ventilator and put on the list to undergo a double lung transplant.<\/p>\n<div class=\"article-image_articleImage__eyzAn\">\n<div class=\"article-image_imageWrapper__ANtPE\">\n<div class=\"resizable-image_wrapper__LRQlr\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"article-image_image__XvzgU\" src=\"https:\/\/images.ladbible.com\/resize?type=webp&amp;quality=70&amp;width=3840&amp;fit=contain&amp;gravity=auto&amp;url=https:\/\/images.ladbiblegroup.com\/v3\/assets\/blt949ea8e16e463049\/bltfe69d4a45da4df41\/686f804d8f9a8a2b503b06d7\/Askren.jpg\" sizes=\"(max-width: 430px) 33vw, (max-width: 768px) 50vw, (max-width: 1024px) 50vw, 33vw\" srcset=\"https:\/\/images.ladbible.com\/resize?type=webp&amp;quality=70&amp;width=256&amp;fit=contain&amp;gravity=auto&amp;url=https:\/\/images.ladbiblegroup.com\/v3\/assets\/blt949ea8e16e463049\/bltfe69d4a45da4df41\/686f804d8f9a8a2b503b06d7\/Askren.jpg 256w, https:\/\/images.ladbible.com\/resize?type=webp&amp;quality=70&amp;width=384&amp;fit=contain&amp;gravity=auto&amp;url=https:\/\/images.ladbiblegroup.com\/v3\/assets\/blt949ea8e16e463049\/bltfe69d4a45da4df41\/686f804d8f9a8a2b503b06d7\/Askren.jpg 384w, https:\/\/images.ladbible.com\/resize?type=webp&amp;quality=70&amp;width=640&amp;fit=contain&amp;gravity=auto&amp;url=https:\/\/images.ladbiblegroup.com\/v3\/assets\/blt949ea8e16e463049\/bltfe69d4a45da4df41\/686f804d8f9a8a2b503b06d7\/Askren.jpg 640w, https:\/\/images.ladbible.com\/resize?type=webp&amp;quality=70&amp;width=750&amp;fit=contain&amp;gravity=auto&amp;url=https:\/\/images.ladbiblegroup.com\/v3\/assets\/blt949ea8e16e463049\/bltfe69d4a45da4df41\/686f804d8f9a8a2b503b06d7\/Askren.jpg 750w, https:\/\/images.ladbible.com\/resize?type=webp&amp;quality=70&amp;width=828&amp;fit=contain&amp;gravity=auto&amp;url=https:\/\/images.ladbiblegroup.com\/v3\/assets\/blt949ea8e16e463049\/bltfe69d4a45da4df41\/686f804d8f9a8a2b503b06d7\/Askren.jpg 828w, https:\/\/images.ladbible.com\/resize?type=webp&amp;quality=70&amp;width=1080&amp;fit=contain&amp;gravity=auto&amp;url=https:\/\/images.ladbiblegroup.com\/v3\/assets\/blt949ea8e16e463049\/bltfe69d4a45da4df41\/686f804d8f9a8a2b503b06d7\/Askren.jpg 1080w, https:\/\/images.ladbible.com\/resize?type=webp&amp;quality=70&amp;width=1200&amp;fit=contain&amp;gravity=auto&amp;url=https:\/\/images.ladbiblegroup.com\/v3\/assets\/blt949ea8e16e463049\/bltfe69d4a45da4df41\/686f804d8f9a8a2b503b06d7\/Askren.jpg 1200w, https:\/\/images.ladbible.com\/resize?type=webp&amp;quality=70&amp;width=1920&amp;fit=contain&amp;gravity=auto&amp;url=https:\/\/images.ladbiblegroup.com\/v3\/assets\/blt949ea8e16e463049\/bltfe69d4a45da4df41\/686f804d8f9a8a2b503b06d7\/Askren.jpg 1920w, https:\/\/images.ladbible.com\/resize?type=webp&amp;quality=70&amp;width=2048&amp;fit=contain&amp;gravity=auto&amp;url=https:\/\/images.ladbiblegroup.com\/v3\/assets\/blt949ea8e16e463049\/bltfe69d4a45da4df41\/686f804d8f9a8a2b503b06d7\/Askren.jpg 2048w, https:\/\/images.ladbible.com\/resize?type=webp&amp;quality=70&amp;width=3840&amp;fit=contain&amp;gravity=auto&amp;url=https:\/\/images.ladbiblegroup.com\/v3\/assets\/blt949ea8e16e463049\/bltfe69d4a45da4df41\/686f804d8f9a8a2b503b06d7\/Askren.jpg 3840w\" alt=\"UFC fighter Ben Askren retired from the sport in 2019 (Jeff Bottari\/Zuffa LLC\/Getty Images)\" data-chromatic=\"ignore\" data-nimg=\"fill\" \/><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><cite class=\"image-credit_imageCredit__YMlqS\">UFC fighter Ben Askren retired from the sport in 2019 (Jeff Bottari\/Zuffa LLC\/Getty Images)<\/cite><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"text_text__nEn66\">In a\u00a0Facebook\u00a0post, Askren&#8217;s wife said he had been &#8216;completely healthy&#8217; before he developed the infection just a few weeks ago.<\/p>\n<p class=\"text_text__nEn66\">Though Askren can&#8217;t remember the ordeal himself, he learned through his wife&#8217;s journal that his heart stopped multiple times while he was in hospital.<\/p>\n<p class=\"text_text__nEn66\">&#8220;I just read through the journal and it&#8217;s like a movie. So, I only died four times. The ticker stopped for about 20 seconds,&#8221; he said.<\/p>\n<div class=\"article-image_articleImage__eyzAn\">\n<div class=\"article-image_imageWrapper__ANtPE\">\n<div class=\"resizable-image_wrapper__LRQlr\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"article-image_image__XvzgU resizable-image_lowRes__5OkaL resizable-image_fadeOut___ZcLy\" src=\"https:\/\/images.ladbible.com\/resize?type=webp&amp;quality=1&amp;width=3840&amp;fit=contain&amp;gravity=auto&amp;url=https:\/\/images.ladbiblegroup.com\/v3\/assets\/blt949ea8e16e463049\/bltb41468b78cbbd0f7\/686f7e644e0a0b0ac28e3cab\/ben-askren-lung-transplant.png\" sizes=\"(max-width: 430px) 33vw, (max-width: 768px) 50vw, (max-width: 1024px) 50vw, 33vw\" srcset=\"https:\/\/images.ladbible.com\/resize?type=webp&amp;quality=1&amp;width=256&amp;fit=contain&amp;gravity=auto&amp;url=https:\/\/images.ladbiblegroup.com\/v3\/assets\/blt949ea8e16e463049\/bltb41468b78cbbd0f7\/686f7e644e0a0b0ac28e3cab\/ben-askren-lung-transplant.png 256w, https:\/\/images.ladbible.com\/resize?type=webp&amp;quality=1&amp;width=384&amp;fit=contain&amp;gravity=auto&amp;url=https:\/\/images.ladbiblegroup.com\/v3\/assets\/blt949ea8e16e463049\/bltb41468b78cbbd0f7\/686f7e644e0a0b0ac28e3cab\/ben-askren-lung-transplant.png 384w, https:\/\/images.ladbible.com\/resize?type=webp&amp;quality=1&amp;width=640&amp;fit=contain&amp;gravity=auto&amp;url=https:\/\/images.ladbiblegroup.com\/v3\/assets\/blt949ea8e16e463049\/bltb41468b78cbbd0f7\/686f7e644e0a0b0ac28e3cab\/ben-askren-lung-transplant.png 640w, https:\/\/images.ladbible.com\/resize?type=webp&amp;quality=1&amp;width=750&amp;fit=contain&amp;gravity=auto&amp;url=https:\/\/images.ladbiblegroup.com\/v3\/assets\/blt949ea8e16e463049\/bltb41468b78cbbd0f7\/686f7e644e0a0b0ac28e3cab\/ben-askren-lung-transplant.png 750w, https:\/\/images.ladbible.com\/resize?type=webp&amp;quality=1&amp;width=828&amp;fit=contain&amp;gravity=auto&amp;url=https:\/\/images.ladbiblegroup.com\/v3\/assets\/blt949ea8e16e463049\/bltb41468b78cbbd0f7\/686f7e644e0a0b0ac28e3cab\/ben-askren-lung-transplant.png 828w, https:\/\/images.ladbible.com\/resize?type=webp&amp;quality=1&amp;width=1080&amp;fit=contain&amp;gravity=auto&amp;url=https:\/\/images.ladbiblegroup.com\/v3\/assets\/blt949ea8e16e463049\/bltb41468b78cbbd0f7\/686f7e644e0a0b0ac28e3cab\/ben-askren-lung-transplant.png 1080w, https:\/\/images.ladbible.com\/resize?type=webp&amp;quality=1&amp;width=1200&amp;fit=contain&amp;gravity=auto&amp;url=https:\/\/images.ladbiblegroup.com\/v3\/assets\/blt949ea8e16e463049\/bltb41468b78cbbd0f7\/686f7e644e0a0b0ac28e3cab\/ben-askren-lung-transplant.png 1200w, https:\/\/images.ladbible.com\/resize?type=webp&amp;quality=1&amp;width=1920&amp;fit=contain&amp;gravity=auto&amp;url=https:\/\/images.ladbiblegroup.com\/v3\/assets\/blt949ea8e16e463049\/bltb41468b78cbbd0f7\/686f7e644e0a0b0ac28e3cab\/ben-askren-lung-transplant.png 1920w, https:\/\/images.ladbible.com\/resize?type=webp&amp;quality=1&amp;width=2048&amp;fit=contain&amp;gravity=auto&amp;url=https:\/\/images.ladbiblegroup.com\/v3\/assets\/blt949ea8e16e463049\/bltb41468b78cbbd0f7\/686f7e644e0a0b0ac28e3cab\/ben-askren-lung-transplant.png 2048w, https:\/\/images.ladbible.com\/resize?type=webp&amp;quality=1&amp;width=3840&amp;fit=contain&amp;gravity=auto&amp;url=https:\/\/images.ladbiblegroup.com\/v3\/assets\/blt949ea8e16e463049\/bltb41468b78cbbd0f7\/686f7e644e0a0b0ac28e3cab\/ben-askren-lung-transplant.png 3840w\" alt=\"Askren admitted he felt like he'd attended his 'own funeral' (Instagram\/@benaskren)\" data-chromatic=\"ignore\" data-nimg=\"fill\" \/><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><cite class=\"image-credit_imageCredit__YMlqS\">Askren admitted he felt like he&#8217;d attended his &#8216;own funeral&#8217; (Instagram\/@benaskren)<\/cite><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"text_text__nEn66\">Askren also told his followers he lost 50lbs in just 45 days, but he has since &#8216;made it out to the other side&#8217;.<\/p>\n<p class=\"text_text__nEn66\">Now, he&#8217;s said he&#8217;s &#8216;more motivated than ever&#8217; to get back to being fit and healthy.<\/p>\n<p class=\"text_text__nEn66\">He also thanked his fans and the wrestling community for their well wishes, saying: &#8220;The thing that was most impactful to me was all the love I felt from everybody. It was almost like I got to have my own funeral.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p class=\"text_text__nEn66\">Influencer\u00a0Jake Paul\u00a0was among the members of the fighting community who rallied around Askren after he fell ill, urging fans to &#8216;say a prayer for Ben Askren and for his family&#8217;.<\/p>\n<p class=\"text_text__nEn66\">Speaking after his win against Julio Cesar Chavez Jr, Paul added: &#8220;We all need to support him. Everyone should go donate to him.&#8221;<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Ben Askren told followers it was like he&#8217;d gone to his &#8216;own funeral&#8217; Former UFC fighter Ben Askren has issued a health update to his followers, revealing he &#8216;died four times&#8217; after contracting a common bacterial infection which developed into pneumonia. Askren, 40, retired from\u00a0MMA\u00a0in 2019 after securing 19 wins in 22 fights, but he&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":20326,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_kad_post_transparent":"default","_kad_post_title":"default","_kad_post_layout":"default","_kad_post_sidebar_id":"","_kad_post_content_style":"default","_kad_post_vertical_padding":"default","_kad_post_feature":"","_kad_post_feature_position":"","_kad_post_header":false,"_kad_post_footer":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-20325","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.0 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Former UFC fighter details \u2018dying four times\u2019 after common infection developed into pneumonia - VM News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/news-vm.com\/?p=20325\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Former UFC fighter details \u2018dying four times\u2019 after common infection developed into pneumonia - VM News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Ben Askren told followers it was like he&#8217;d gone to his &#8216;own funeral&#8217; Former UFC fighter Ben Askren has issued a health update to his followers, revealing he &#8216;died four times&#8217; after contracting a common bacterial infection which developed into pneumonia. Askren, 40, retired from\u00a0MMA\u00a0in 2019 after securing 19 wins in 22 fights, but he...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/news-vm.com\/?p=20325\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"VM News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-07-12T22:42:25+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/news-vm.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/517789840_1154970303338212_5066041777553441626_n.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"512\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"640\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"vmfavorite\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"vmfavorite\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/news-vm.com\/?p=20325#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/news-vm.com\/?p=20325\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"vmfavorite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/news-vm.com\/#\/schema\/person\/a2e30a4c480fba08110aa92dceebedad\"},\"headline\":\"Former UFC fighter details \u2018dying four times\u2019 after common infection developed into pneumonia\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-07-12T22:42:25+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/news-vm.com\/?p=20325\"},\"wordCount\":492,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/news-vm.com\/?p=20325#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/news-vm.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/517789840_1154970303338212_5066041777553441626_n.jpg\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/news-vm.com\/?p=20325#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/news-vm.com\/?p=20325\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/news-vm.com\/?p=20325\",\"name\":\"Former UFC fighter details \u2018dying four times\u2019 after common infection developed into pneumonia - 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