On JRE MMA Show #182, Joe Rogan and his guests turned their attention to Ben Askren after the conversation touched on the flying knee knockout from Jorge Masvidal.
That moment prompted guest Matt Serra to share that Askren had been talking publicly about returning to wrestling competition, a prospect that left everyone far from enthusiastic.
“Hey, he’s supposed to be wrestling again,” Serra said. “But is that a good idea?”
Rogan directly replied, “No.”
Serra’s concern stemmed largely from Askren’s double lung transplant, which took place roughly one to two years prior to the episode. He noted that when he saw recent footage of Askren speaking, he was coughing noticeably.
Serra stated, “When he was talking, he was coughing a lot. People who are athletes. they’re afraid of wrestling because it’s exhausting. They don’t want to feel that burn in their lungs. You really want to push yourself like that? I just don’t want him to get f**ked up.”
The conversation quickly moved into the medical realities of organ transplantation. Rogan pointed out that recipients of transplanted organs typically need to take immunosuppressant drugs to prevent rejection, leaving them more vulnerable to illness.
Rogan stated, “I mean he had double lung transplant surgery maybe two years ago I’d be worried even just about infection. I’d be worried about everything. If you’re doing that, I think you have to take immunosuppressant d**gs in order to keep someone else’s organs inside of you.”
He used his friend who underwent a heart transplant, as an example. His friend has to take medication to keep his body from rejecting the organ and has dealt with complications including swelling.
Rogan noted that during COVID, his friend had to be especially careful given that anything serious could be life-threatening when the immune system is operating differently.
“Your body’s like, ‘Who’s this f**king heart? This is not our heart,'” Rogan said.
He also cited transplant mortality data the group had been reviewing, noting that roughly 91 percent of heart transplant recipients survive the first year, with the survival rate declining steadily over time. By the ten-year mark, roughly half of recipients had passed away.
He acknowledged he did not have the specific numbers for double lung transplants but said he imagined the situation was similarly fragile.
“You want to put that in the red? You want to push that where you’re breathing heavy?” Serra said.
Matt Serra and others agreed. The sentiment around the table was that Askren had already beaten enormous odds.
“He ch**ted d3ath,” Rallo said. “Your family, you have your family back. You have a second chance. Like why would you put that at risk to do something?”
Rogan acknowledged that someone with Askren’s competitive makeup may find it hard to walk away. He stated, “Sometimes when you’re a winner, your will is so strong that you think you could force your body into unrealistic expectations.”
