came face-to-face with his mortality. This summer, he’ll make his
return to active competition.
Askren will square off against Belal
Muhammad at Real American Freestyle 11 on July 18 in Milwaukee,
Wisconsin. Askren initially announced the news on ““The Ariel Helwani Show,” and RAF later
confirmed the booking via social media.
“I was the first signee for Real American Freestyle back in May of
2025 prior to all my issues,” Askren said. “I love wrestling. I
love what they’re doing. I’ve been back coaching for three months
or so right now on regular practices….They told me that they were
doing a show in Milwaukee — I asked them to come to Milwaukee
because I knew we would knock it out of the park.
“But it was July 18, and it was my birthday and I thought something
spoke to me and said I need to wrestle on that. So i’ve been doing
my very best every single day to train and to get in shape and it’s
feeling really good. I’m in the wrestling room. I’m wrestling with
the guys. I mean, not not super hard yet, but I’m doing
things.”
Getting His Life Back
Last May, Askren was hospitalized with pneumonia and was placed on
a ventilator as he came close to death on multiple occasions. He
was ultimately
approved for a double lung transplant and has since been on a
gradual road to recovery. Askren initially lost around 50 pounds in
less than two months, but more recently, he inquired about getting
back to wrestling.
“I think it started as I was getting better,” Askren said. “I told
my doctor, ‘Hey, man, I I want to go back to coaching practices. I
want to go back to my life. I want to go back to doing what I
love.’ He said, ‘You can. You have to be a little smarter. You’d
[have to] to take a few more precautions.”
A a two-time NCAA national champion wrestler at the University of
Missouri and a 2008 Olympian, Askren is a significant figure in the
wrestling community. “Funky” later made a name for himself with
stints in Bellator
MMA, ONE
Championship and theUFC
before retiring from MMA in 2019.
Muhammad, a former UFC welterweight champion, made his RAF debut in
December, losing to David Carr
via technical fall. “Remember the Name” is scheduled to meet
Gabriel
Bonfim in the
UFC Fight Night 278 headliner on Saturday at the UFC Apex in
Las Vegas.
Ben Askren
RETURNSAskren vs Muhammad July 18 in Milwaukee.
Tickets in bio. Stream exclusively on @foxnation
pic.twitter.com/h1U2o8118t— Real American Freestyle (@RAFWrestlingUSA)
June 1, 2026