Ben Askren, a former UFC fighter, endured an extreme health crisis in the Spring and Summer of 2025, spending weeks in a coma and undergoing intensive surgery before waking up and, as he tells it, immediately deciding to fully commit his life to Jesus Christ for the first time.
For background, in May 2025, former UFC fighter and Olympian Ben Askren reportedly went to the hospital complaining of back pain, going on to be placed on a ventilator and put in a medically-induced coma for 45 days due to a life-threatening staph infection. Askren’s condition required a double lung transplant, and he experienced cardiac arrest multiple times while comatose.
In an interview with FloWrestling published in early August 2025, Askren said that when he woke up and started his recovery, he immediately decided to become a Christian. He explained his sudden conversion after being asked, “How has this changed you? Mentally, spiritually, anything like that.”
Speaking to FloWrestling, Askren said, “I woke up and I started as a Christian. So that’s crazy. I went with my wife to church for 15 years because that was part of the deal.” He continued, “I said, ‘I’m not Christian, but I’ll support you.’ And it was really weird when I woke up. I’m like, ‘I gotta do it.'”
Moreover, Askren said he has “So much gratitude for everyone who’s helped out,” adding, “So many people donate money, watch our kids, donate food.” He added, “A lot of friends come and hang out with me. So just so much gratitude for just being around me, and it’s kind of wild to me.”
Continuing, Askren explained, “I was always like in my head, and I think this is true, I was a very controversial figure, you know, where there’s some people who love me, but there’s always people who really didn’t like me, sure, and I got, I have kind of negative things said to me, and since I can remember, you know, it’s the only positive.”
When conservative commentator Collin Rugg shared a video of Askren’s testimony on X, many users reflected on their own similar experiences in the comments. The X user RamonaWoodworx wrote, “The same thing happened to me after a cliff diving accident. I drowned and going thru that process and waking up i was starving for God.” They added, “There must be a correlation.”
Furthermore, in a video update filmed from his hospital bed on July 9, 2025, Askren explained that while hospitalized, he had “died four times,” adding, “I don’t remember anything from May 28 to July 2. No recollection. No idea what happened.” He continued, “The thing that was most impactful for me was the love I felt from everybody. You listen to all these people recollect how much they enjoy you, how much they love you. The outpouring of love from the wrestling community was amazing. It felt so good.”
Watch Askren explain his newfound faith:
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