The last episode of Ben Askren and Daniel Cormier‘s ‘Funky and the Champ’ was some two odd weeks ago. ‘DC’ remembers how his friend had confessed to suffering from an infection and was having a really tough time. It turned out to be a Staphylococcus infection, which later led to a severe lung infection, and Askren had to be hospitalized. As per Cormier’s latest update, the former fighter was taken ‘back home’ to his family in Wisconsin and is being treated in a hospital there.

As the former ONE Championship welterweight champion continues to fight his illness, his wife, Amy, has been sharing updates with his fans. Last week, she mentioned, “Feeling so incredibly thankful for our friends and community… It’s times like this that remind you how truly blessed you are.” She added, “I feel God moving through the love and support we have received. I’m sorry if I haven’t had the chance to respond to you, but know I’ve seen your messages, and each one has meant so much to me. Please keep praying for Ben.”

Now, in the latest update, Amy penned an emotional message for him on June 15, 2025—Father’s Day. “Happy Father’s Day my love,” she wrote on her Instagram stories. But it doesn’t stop here. She shared a reel that highlighted Askren’s beautiful moments with his children and captioned it, “Happy Father’s Day to the best dad we could ask for. We love you so much. You’ve given us the best life and now we are acutely aware of just how good we have it. We are praying for you non stop and can’t wait to have you back home with us.”

Ben Askren and Amy have been married since April 2010. She is a licensed estate agent at Firefly Real Estate near Milwaukee in Wisconsin, and together, the couple has three children: daughters Alex, 12, and Andi, 9, and son Ozi, 7.

In an older post from earlier this month, Askren’s wife had clarified, “You may have heard that my husband Ben is going through something. He developed severe pneumonia, which came on very suddenly. He’s currently in the hospital and unable to respond to anything at this time. We welcome all prayers for healing and for peace. We are trying to keep life as normal as possible for our children currently and doing our best to support them thoughtfully so please refrain from discussing it with them for now.”

Additionally, UFC legend Chael Sonnen, who is a long-time friend of Askren, spoke about him last week and opened up on the situation. What did he say?

Chael Sonnen provided an important health update about Ben Askren!

Taking to his YouTube channel, ‘The Bad Guy’ opened up about Askren’s family moving him to Wisconsin. He said, “One of the things the family really wanted to do was to get Ben, like this was priority number one, they wanted to get Ben from Nevada where he was to Wisconsin. Just geographically speaking, if this is to be the end, they wanted it in Wisconsin.”

Sonnen continued, “So, at this point in the story, we all find out that Ben needs a lung transplant. There was a hole in his lung. For the information that I’ve been given, he don’t have an answer as to how or I guess as to even why there was a hole in his lung. But while the family is working on that, they were able to get Ben from Nevada to Wisconsin.

“I was able to speak to the lovely Amy, Ben’s wife, one time. She did it make it clear in this one time that we talked that there wasn’t going to be a lot of talking, but what was really hoped for was prayers and thoughts.”

During such difficult times, the fight community is offering its prayers for Askren’s recovery.