Ben Askren Emotional Over Life-Changing Year, 2026 Will 'Look Different'

Ben Askren's life turned upside down in 2025 ... he battled severe pneumonia that resulted in a 59-day hospital stay and a double lung transplant ... but thankfully, he tells TMZ Sports he's going into the New Year moving in a "positive direction."

The former MMA star said at times it feels like his health scare was a "bad dream." While there's not much he remembers from those days ... he says there are still lessons to take away from the whole ordeal ... citing a book called "Finish Empty" by Josh Metcalf, which gave him a good perspective.

"I kind of died once, you know, like for all intents and purposes, left Earth for 40 days," Askren said. "I had no real communication to anyone. I had no recollection of anything. So I get to kind of reflect on like, okay, had I not woken back up? How do I feel about what I did prior to this time?"

The 41-year-old said he felt really proud of it all ... and acknowledged that while there are things he plans on changing ... he looks forward to acting on those lessons learned towards his 2026.

So, what's next for Ben Askren?

Well, there isn't much lined up right now -- but as he continues to get healthy -- he believes he can finally start to work on making plans.

"They are going to look significantly different," Askren said. "For example, I can't go to the wrestling tournaments with my kid, you know, my own biological children. I would like to, which would be very normal. So it's going to look different. But I feel like I'm finally at that point where I can kind of take a deep breath and easily accomplish the things I need to in the day."