Askren transitioned to MMA after an amateur wrestling career that saw him represent the United States in the 2008 Summer Olympics. He quickly found success in the cage after winning the Bellator Season 2 welterweight tournament before capturing the welterweight title in 2010.'

Jake Paul is praising former opponent Ben Askren as “one of the toughest fighters of all time” after a life-threatening battle with pneumonia. In the wake of Askren’s latest health update Wednesday, when he revealed he “only died four times” before receiving a double lung transplant, Paul took to X to applaud Askren’s perseverance.