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Former UFC welterweight Ben Askren was recently hospitalized due to a life-threatening bout with pneumonia. Unfortunately, some in the MMA fandom have taken to poking fun at Askren's current predicament, which prompted former UFC lightweight Josh Thomson to blast the social media trolls.
Thomson did so on a recent episode of his WEIGHING IN podcast with retired MMA refereeing legend 'Big' John McCarthy. He specifically took issue with a fan on a social media platform taunting Askren over his views on the COVID-19 vaccine, which was a hot topic among fighters:
"No matter how you feel about Ben as the way he was as a fighter, he is a f**king fantastic human being. The guy that just lets things slide off of his back, doesn't care what people say about him, and I know that people have said some f**king horrible things about him. There was literally some idiot cuck on f**king Instagram or X or whatever it was, basically saying like, 'Remember this is the guy that tried to tell people not to take the vaccine.' Shut the f**k up."
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Check out Josh Thomson coming to Ben Askren's defense (1:03:17):
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The situation with Askren is a harrowing one, and it has captured the attention of much of the MMA world. In fact, he was even the recipient of a video tribute during the UFC Atlanta live broadcast.
While Askren's stint in the promotion was short, it was also memorable. He scored a submission win over former UFC welterweight champion Robbie Lawler on his promotional debut at UFC 235, and had a memorable feud with Jorge Masvidal, to whom he lost at UFC 239.
In his final UFC bout, he faced Demian Maia at UFC Fight Night 162, losing to him via submission.
Ben Askren is a multi-promotion world champion
While he never managed to capture UFC gold, Ben Askren did find world championship success in two other high-profile MMA promotions.
During his undefeated run, he held the Bellator welterweight title, defending it four times, which remains a divisional record in the promotion.
After parting ways with Bellator, Askren signed with ONE Championship, where he became the welterweight champion, defending the belt three times. Unfortunately, by the time he made his way to the UFC, he was past his prime and had major hip issues.
