Overview

• Askren remains hospitalized with a chest tube infection as he pushes short laps with a walker in the face of extreme exhaustion.
• His June 30 double lung transplant was funded by community crowdfunding and a $500,000 donation from Jake Paul after his insurance failed to cover the six-figure surgery.
• A two-month ICU stint on ventilator and ECMO support and four cardiac arrests underscored the life-threatening severity of his pneumonia.
• Boxing promoter Oscar De La Hoya has criticized the UFC’s pay and healthcare model, arguing that fighters should not have to rely on public aid for life-saving treatment.
• Askren calls the ordeal humbling as he confronts reliance on others, lifelong immunosuppressant therapy and an uncertain path back to competition.