Next week, seven years after he last fought a freestyle or MMA bout, Ben Askren is set to make a competitive comeback. On July 18, he will headline the eleventh edition of Real American Freestyle (RAF), scheduled at Milwaukee, Wisconsin’s UW-Milwaukee Panther Arena. He will face former UFC welterweight champion, Belal Muhammad, in a wrestling match.

While bold, the move has also attracted concerns that primarily center around the medical condition that saw him undergo life-saving surgery. Discussing the former Bellator welterweight champion’s return, Joe Rogan and the panel of guests, including John Rallo, Matt Serra, and Din Thomas, sounded extremely worried.

“I mean, he had double lung transplant surgery, like, how long ago? That was like a year ago, a year ago, maybe two years ago, maybe two years ago. I’d be worried even just about infection; I’d be worried about everything, and I would also be worried. If you’re doing that, I think you have to take immunosuppressant drugs in order to keep someone else’s organs inside of you,” Rogan stated as the discussion turned to Askren’s wrestling comeback.

Their worries largely stem from the life-threatening situation Ben Askren found himself in last year. Roughly twelve months ago, his wife had shared that the former two-time NCAA Division I national champion was admitted to the hospital due to pneumonia likely caused by a staph infection. Given his condition, Askren was put on a ventilator.

A few days later, Amy Askren revealed that her husband had undergone a life-saving double lung transplant. It took a few more weeks before Askren, through social media, shared a few details about his condition, including a period that lasted a few days, about which he had no memory, and he was almost dead. Askren had also acknowledged that he lost fifty pounds during that stage.

While his medical situation drew an outpouring of support, Askren took it upon himself to share regular updates about his health. He also made it a point to share his thoughts on his beliefs and faith to motivate others who had been through a similar ordeal.

In that context, Askren’s wrestling comeback within a year has received support from a few corners, including former UFC champion Merab Dvalishvili and Anthony Pettis showing their respect for his decision. Yet a wider community still aligns its view with Rogan and others.

Askren received a double-lung transplant, which experts suggest changes an individual’s physical capacity significantly. Becoming involved in a physically demanding sporting event like wrestling could mean putting immense pressure on those lungs.

Medically, experts claim, lung transplantation can be life-saving. Yet, its long-term outcomes remain challenging. Median survival hovers around six to seven years, and only one-third of recipients reportedly live beyond ten years.

Ben Askren remains determined to write the next chapter of his wrestling story

For his part, meanwhile, the former Bellator welterweight champion remains excited about his return to the mat. Speaking with Fox Nation host Abby Hornacek, Askren explained his motivation, which transitioned from being an ambassador and remote analyst for the RAF to being an active wrestler-grappler.

It appears his medical team initially suggested that Askren participate in the Transplant Games, which is a sporting event and fundraiser for transplant recipients and donors. Askren, however, wondered if he could instead participate in the activity he felt most comfortable with—wrestling.

It just so happened that his thoughts coincided with the announcement of the RAF event, which is now scheduled to happen in his hometown on his birthday.

“So it was almost the same time, and I’m like, that’s speaking to me,” Askren said. “I have to do it. So I said, ‘Hey, what if I wrestle?’ And he was maybe a little hesitant at first, and I said, well, what are your real worries? What could happen to me? And we talked through it, and he said, ‘I think it’s fine. I don’t see an issue.’ So I just started training.

“There was a long period where it’s like, can I get healthy fast enough? Because I didn’t want to take on someone really easy. I wanted to have someone respectable. And it kind of came around to the point where it’s like, you know, listen, things could still go wrong when you’ve got my issues. A lot of stuff can go wrong. I’ve got five weeks left to keep training, and hopefully everything goes right, and I think I’ll be ready, and it’ll be awesome.”

To be fair, Askren’s example of an athlete who fought back from a lung transplant to return to active competition may not be unprecedented.

One notable case that often comes to mind and mirrors Askren’s condition is that of Kassandra Klemenz. She underwent a double-lung transplant after battling cystic fibrosis. Later, she made history by completing an Ironman 70.3 triathlon as a double-lung transplant recipient and para-athlete.

But despite that motivational storyline, many fans will continue to worry about Askren as he gears up to face a formidable opponent like Belal Muhammad, who could be expected to test him over the course of the match.

Fans and organizers alike are likely to be following Askren more closely. He’s a modern-day icon whose journey continues to inspire. No one would want such a figure to get into a bad medical situation, especially when he came off a life-threatening ordeal only recently.