Ben Askren, an Arrowhead High School grad, former mixed martial arts champion, UFC fighter and Olympic wrestler, was hospitalized with "severe pneumonia" and is currently "unresponsive," according to a post by his wife, Amy Askren on Facebook.
Amy posted the update on Saturday at about 8:10 p.m. and she said her family is welcoming prayers and would like to maintain some semblance of normalcy for their children.
Askren was a two-time WIAA state champion while at Arrowhead High School, and he placed nationally at multiple tournaments in folkstyle, freestyle and Greco-Roman wrestling.
He competed in the 2008 Summer Olympics on the U.S. team and defeated Istvan Vereb, a Hungarian wrestler, in the first round. Askren later lost to Cuban wrestler Ivan Fundora and Russian wrestler Buvaisar Saitiev, which ended his chance to compete for a medal. He would later defeat Fundora in the semifinals of the Cerro Pelado International in Cuba in 2010.
Askren later went into the UFC and had a final record of 19-2, according to his ESPN profile.
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