According to social media updates from his wife Amy, Askren was put on a ventilator in June and later placed on a donor list for a lung transplant. His condition deteriorated rapidly, and doctors had to resuscitate him multiple times. “I only died four times, where the ticker stopped for about 20 seconds,” Askren said in his first statement.

Former Olympic wrestler and MMA star Ben Askren is opening up about his recent, serious health issues, including that he " died four times " and underwent a double lung transplant. In an Instagram video posted July 9, he explained that he experienced the ordeal between May 28 and July 2 and does not remember anything from that time period.