When Corey Anderson first encountered Ben Askren, he was a highly accomplished college wrestler with numerous accolades. He had no idea at the time how significantly that meeting would transform his entire life.
Askren, a two-time National Champion wrestler and a 2008 Olympian, was impressed by Anderson`s competitive mindset and approach. He extended an invitation for Anderson to train with him and suggested he explore a career in mixed martial arts. This guidance proved influential, as Anderson began training under Askren, which eventually led to his participation in `The Ultimate Fighter` reality show. This served as the launching pad for his professional career, during which he has consistently been a top light heavyweight fighter for the past decade and became the final 205-pound champion in Bellator history.
Askren is currently hospitalized after suffering a severe case of pneumonia that necessitated a double lung transplant. While Askren`s wife, Amy, has been providing consistent updates on his medical condition, Anderson admits that witnessing his friend and mentor undergoing such a serious health crisis has profoundly affected him personally.
“It impacts my wife more,” Anderson shared with MMA Fighting. “I’m not an overly emotional person. But right now, as I talk about Ben, I feel tears welling up. Every night, we include him in our prayers. I come home from training or elsewhere and can hear her on Zoom, and she often comes out with tears in her eyes.”
“It’s just that whenever we discuss the situation, or someone posts about it and she shares it with me, and we start talking, I can see her pain.”
The depth of his wife Jennifer`s reaction to Askren`s current medical situation stems from the significant role he has played in both their lives.
In fact, Anderson asserts that he and his wife would never have met if it weren`t for Ben Askren.
“Not just my career, but my entire life – my life wouldn’t be what it is without Ben,” Anderson stated. “That encompasses more than just competing. It’s my life itself. I met my wife because of Ben Askren. I have two wonderful children. I have a wife. I have a fighting career. It feels like everything significant I possess in my adult life originated because of Ben Askren.”
“This is because he invited me to an MMA gym, and on the very day I first stepped into that gym, my wife was working behind the front desk. That’s when I first met her. Years later, we began a relationship, and then she relocated here.”
After leaving his college in Wisconsin and eventually dedicating himself full-time to MMA, Anderson has trained at numerous gyms in preparation for his fights. However, Askren has remained a consistent and guiding presence throughout his career.
Anderson says that whenever he requires advice, Askren is almost always one of the first individuals he reaches out to.
“Every time we go back home, we make sure to visit Ben,” Anderson mentioned. “If I encounter an issue in the fight game, even now before an upcoming fight, my wife will tell me to message Ben. If I have questions, like how to promote myself effectively without compromising my integrity, I’ll contact Ben. For anything, I turn to Ben when I have a problem.”
“There are two people I consistently talk to: Ben Askren and Eddie Alvarez. They are the two individuals who have been in the sport the longest and serve as my greatest mentors, capable of guiding me in the right direction because they have experienced and done it all.”
Anderson acknowledges that the past few weeks have been difficult with Askren hospitalized, but the former Bellator and ONE champion is continuously in his thoughts and prayers.
Even as he prepares for his upcoming return to action at the PFL Africa card next Saturday, Anderson`s mind remains focused on how Askren is progressing in his recovery from the lung transplant.
More than anything else, Anderson eagerly anticipates finally being able to pick up the phone and hear Askren’s familiar voice on the other end once again.
“[Ben Askren] essentially steered me towards the life I now have – from my wife, to MMA, to the very first MMA gym I ever trained in, coaching me in college and helping me reach the NCAA National Finals,” Anderson recounted. “He’s done so many different things; he even provided me with locations for my hunting channel. It’s all thanks to Ben. You feel like there’s not much you can do to help in this situation.”
“I just want to call and talk to him. Even if he can’t say anything back. Just to be present with him. It’s a strange situation. You just keep praying about it and hope for a positive outcome.”
Marcus Blakely