In early June this year, Ben Askren was fighting for his life in a hospital bed, battling a severe pneumonia that stemmed from a staph infection. The 41-year-old veteran’s condition became so serious that he slipped into a coma for 45 days and lost nearly 50 pounds. However, less than three months later, he’s officially back.

“So @the_rudis sent me a pair of shoes and I just couldn’t help myself…,” the boxer wrote on X, showing off his new shoes from the wrestling brand. “4 months ago I was on my death bed 3 months ago I couldn’t stand unassisted 2 months ago I was still using a walker What’s your excuse?? Tie them up tight and let’s get to work 👊👊👊 Couldn’t be more grateful to be back at it and for all of the support the community gave me during such a hard time🙏🙏🙏”

This comes three months after the former Olympic wrestler had to undergo a double lung transplant. Later, talking about the same in an Instagram video, Askren admitted he remembered very little from the monthlong ordeal. “No recollection, zero idea, no idea what happened,” he said. “I just read through my wife’s journal. It’s like a movie. It’s ridiculous. I only died four times, where the ticker stopped for about 20 seconds.”

As for his recent gift, endearingly, RUDIS’ relationship with Ben Askren extends beyond that. While the MMA star was fighting for his life, the brand was making grand efforts of their own by launching a fundraiser.

The official statement read: “Ben Askren has spent his life pouring into others, on the mat, and in the wrestling room. A two-time NCAA Champion, Olympian, and beloved coach, Ben has dedicated himself to growing the sport and inspiring the next generation to chase their potential. Today, he’s facing the toughest fight of his life. Ben is in urgent need of a life-saving lung transplant. It’s a battle he can’t face alone, and now, it’s time for the wrestling community to rally behind one of its own. This is our chance to give back to someone who’s given his life to the sport.”

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Well, it’s good to see that even after going through so much in the past couple of months, Ben Askren can still shoot solid double- and single-leg takedown attempts, as shown in the video clip. Fans were impressed, but it wasn’t just MMA fans reacting. Former two-division champion Daniel Cormier also jumped into the comments and wrote, “Bro,” showing that he’s genuinely surprised to see Askren moving that well on the mat.

For the unversed, ‘DC’ and Askren are close friends and have known each other for years. Because of that, they never shy away from trading playful banter. And now that Askren looks back in form, the former UFC fighter continued the trash talk and called his friend “unathletic”, too. But more on that later. 

Ben Askren was surprised by Daniel Cormier’s achievements 

 Daniel Cormier and Ben Askren developed a friendly relationship when they represented the 2008 Olympic team, which also included Henry Cejudo. While ‘DC’ wrestled primarily in the light heavyweight division, ‘Funky’ competed at welterweight. Over the years, they continued training together, even after both transitioned from freestyle wrestling into MMA. 

Since Cormier was always the bigger guy, Askren often joked about it. He even teased that he still couldn’t believe how ‘DC’ achieved so much in both wrestling and MMA, despite not being that athletic, and on the recent Flo Wrestling podcast, he has kept that banter alive. 

‘Funky’ said, “Honestly, I don’t think if we have ever wrestled, wrestled, like really 100% wrestled. I know we played around at some training camp. Ugh, ‘DC’ is a chunky b—tt. He had me by about 70 pounds then, cause he was about 240, and I was probably low 170. So, I  don’t know that it’s a fair contest, but all in all, I believe I’m a significantly better athlete than he is. You know, it is really impressive. Speaks to his work ethic that he has made it so far being so unathletic.”  

Well, that was definitely a classic banter between two old friends, but it’s not surprising. The former two-division champ was one of the most devastating fighters of his era. Sure, Daniel Cormier might not look like the most athletic fighter ever, but he used to ragdoll opponents inside the Octagon. So, even if ‘DC’ wasn’t athletic in the conventional sense, he was absolutely a menace to deal with at that time.

That said, what do you think about Ben Askren returning to full health and moving well again after dealing with months of illness? Let us know in the comments section below.