Ben Askren to wrestle Belal Muhammad one year after life-saving double-lung transplant

Almost exactly one year after receiving a life-saving double-lung transplant that left him struggling to speak, former NCAA champion wrestler Ben Askren is returning to the mat.

And he’s going to compete on his 41st birthday.

Askren is scheduled to wrestle former UFC welterweight champion Belal Muhammad for Real American Freestyle in Milwaukee on July 18.

An NCAA Division I wrestling champion at 174 pounds in 2006 and 2007, Askren was the first person RAF signed when the freestyle wrestling promotion formed in May 2025. Weeks later, he contracted a severe case of pneumonia that landed him in the hospital for more than a month.

Askren said he “died four times” during his 45-day hospital stay, much of which he spent in a medically induced coma. He learned of the details by reading his wife’s journal and said the illness gave him a new perspective on life and his loved ones.

Since then, Askren has regained his ability to walk and his voice, becoming a commentator and matchmaker for RAF. He regularly posts clips of himself training and teaching his wrestling school students in Wisconsin.

Askren left the hospital in July 2025 weighing 147 pounds. He’ll enter the cruiserweight match with Muhammad between 165 and 175 pounds.

After the RAF11 bout with Muhammad, Askren plans to retire, regardless of the outcome.

“I know I can’t compete with some of the high-level wrestlers at this point in my life, but I feel like I can still compete against some really good ones,” Askren said in an interview with Ariel Helwani on Monday. “I’m going to do it once, and I’m going to enjoy it. Then I’m going to coach wrestling, enjoy my family and help RAF grow.”

Askren had a decorated collegiate wrestling career at the University of Missouri that placed him among the sport’s greats. His 91 pins rank third in NCAA Division I history, and he finished with a 153-8 collegiate record, including an 87-match winning streak.

He twice won the Dan Hodge Trophy as the nation’s best college wrestler, an award equivalent to football’s Heisman Trophy. Askren also competed with the 2008 U.S. Olympic team in Beijing before moving into mixed martial arts.

After the transition, Askren won the Bellator Welterweight Championship in 2010 and the ONE Welterweight Championship in 2013. He briefly joined the UFC in 2018 and went 1-2 in the promotion before retiring the next year. His overall MMA record is 19-2.

Nicknamed “Funky,” Askren continued to participate in occasional wrestling matches and grappling events, then competed in his first professional boxing match against Jake Paul in 2021. Paul won the pay-per-view main event matchup via technical knockout.

Muhammad is a seasoned fighter whom the UFC still ranks as the world’s fifth-best welterweight. The 37-year-old became UFC’s first Palestinian champion at UFC 304 in July 2024 before losing the welterweight belt to Jack Della Maddalena at UFC 315 in May 2025. He has a 30-5 record in MMA across multiple promotions, leaning on his background in Brazilian jiu-jitsu. After suffering back-to-back losses in the octagon, Muhammad is set to face Gabriel Bonfim in the main event of UFC Fight Night 278 on Saturday.

The showdown with Askren will be Muhammad’s second freestyle wrestling match. He made his professional debut in the sport at RAF04 on Dec. 20, 2025, when he lost to current welterweight champion David Carr.

RAF11 is scheduled for July 18 at 8 p.m. ET, with coverage on Fox Nation.

Outside of wrestling, Askren recently weighed in on last month’s death of NASCAR driver Kyle Busch, who died of sepsis related to his own severe case of pneumonia.

“Thank god my wife forced me to go to the hospital when she did or my fate would’ve likely been similar. It’s scary stuff,” Askren wrote on X after Busch’s cause of death was announced.

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