Askren retires after RAF 11 return a year on from double lung transplant

Ben Askren has competed for the last time, confirming his retirement after a wrestling match at Real American Freestyle (RAF) 11 in Milwaukee on Saturday — roughly a year after undergoing a double lung transplant.

The 42-year-old was hospitalised with a severe case of pneumonia that he has said nearly killed him, and he has described his children being told their father had died before he recovered. His return to a competitive mat, in his home state of Wisconsin, came at the end of a long rehabilitation and a significant change in his physical condition.

What happened on the mat

Askren faced Belal Muhammad, an active UFC welterweight contender and a former UFC champion, and lost on points by a 4-3 margin. He was visibly emotional afterwards and told interviewer Chael Sonnen that his lungs held up but his legs gave out, adding that he had pushed hard through a difficult year of recovery. He then placed his shoes on the mat in front of the hometown crowd and said the match would be his last as a competitor.

• Askren, 42, returned at RAF 11 in Milwaukee about a year after a double lung transplant caused by severe pneumonia.
• He lost 4-3 on points to UFC welterweight contender Belal Muhammad.
• He left his shoes on the mat and confirmed it was his final time competing.
• Colby Covington beat Arman Tsarukyan 5-3 to become the first RAF crossover champion.
• Frankie Edgar defeated fellow UFC Hall of Famer Clay Guida 9-2 on the same card.

A career that crossed combat sports

Askren signed with the UFC in 2018 and won his promotional debut at UFC 235 in March 2019, submitting Robbie Lawler. He fought twice more in the organisation, losing to Jorge Masvidal and Demian Maia, before boxing Jake Paul in 2021 — his last outing before the RAF comeback.

The Milwaukee event also reshaped the promotion's crossover picture. Covington's win over UFC lightweight contender Tsarukyan handed the latter his first defeat in four years and made Covington the first RAF crossover champion.

Covington is now set to defend that belt against Muhammad at RAF 12 on August 22, a bout built on a series of public callouts between the two. For Askren, the next chapter will be away from competition, closing a career that spanned collegiate and Olympic wrestling, MMA and boxing.