Ben Askren is planning a return to the wrestling mats, less than one year after undergoing a life-saving double lung transplant.
Askren, 41, will face former UFC welterweight champion Belal Muhammad in a freestyle wrestling match at RAF 11 on July 18 in Milwaukee. Askren lives and coaches in Wisconsin, and said the details of the RAF event prompted him to make a competitive return. He will celebrate his 42nd birthday on the day of the match.
"I've been back coaching for three months now, on a regular basis," Askren told Uncrowned. "I had asked them to come to Milwaukee because I knew we would knock it out of the park, and July 18 is my birthday. Something spoke to me and I said, 'I need to wrestle on that.'"
The event will also feature UFC lightweight contender Arman Tsarukyan in a main event matchup against former UFC interim welterweight champion Colby Covington.
Askren, who is a former U.S. Olympian and NCAA Division-I national champion for Missouri, has not competed since he suffered a first-round knockout loss to Jake Paul in a boxing match in 2021. He came close to UFC welterweight title contention in 2019, before suffering back-to-back losses to Jorge Masvidal and Demian Maia to end his MMA career.
He was unexpectedly hospitalized with pneumonia in 2025. According to his family, Askren was placed on a ventilator in June, before ultimately receiving a double lung transplant. He said he lost 50 pounds in a span of 45 days during his hospitalization.