Overview
- Ben Askren returned to the mat for a one-off Real American Freestyle match against Belal Muhammad and lost 6-3 before immediately confirming his retirement from competitive wrestling.
- Askren led 3-0 through two periods but fatigued in the final period as Muhammad scored a double-leg takedown and reversal sequence to rally for the win.
- In post-match comments Askren said his new lungs ‘held up fine’ and that late-match collapse was driven by weakening legs and an extended 11-week course of medication for cytomegalovirus that set back his training.
- Askren required a double-lung transplant after life-threatening pneumonia in June 2025 and spent months relearning basic tasks and rebuilding his body to reach the level needed for this final outing.
- The match served as an emotional public milestone—Askren left his wrestling shoes on the mat as a traditional retirement gesture—and it highlights RAF’s strategy of staging high-profile, one-off events that mix sport and personal narrative.