UFC vet Ben Askren addresses health ordeal, Max Holloway talks potential White House fight, Jake Paul slams WBA rankings criticism: MMA News Roundup

UFC veteran Ben Askren recently addressed his ongoing health struggles from his hospital bed and sent some love toward his fans. Elsewhere, Max Holloway discussed the possibility of fighting on the lawn of the White House next year, while Jake Paul slammed the WBA rankings.

Catch up with all the latest news in mixed martial arts with Sportskeeda's MMA News Roundup.

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UFC vet Ben Askren speaks out about harrowing health ordeal from hospital bed

Ben Askren recently spoke out about his health issues. The UFC veteran was critically hospitalized last month after a staph infection turned into severe pneumonia and had to undergo a double lung transplant.

In a recent video shared to his socials, Askren addressed his fans from his hospital bed and thanked them for their love and support:

"I just read through my wife’s journal because I don’t remember anything from May 28 to July 2. No recollection. No idea. No idea what happened. I just read through my wife’s journals, and it’s like a movie. It’s ridiculous. I only died four times, where the ticker stopped for about 20 seconds. That’s not ideal. But I got the double lung transplant. I made it out the other side of it."

He continued:

"The thing that was most impactful to me was all the love I felt from everybody. It was almost like I got to have my own funeral. The outpouring of love from the wrestling community is just amazing. It felt so good. I love you guys. I appreciate you guys. It’s been tough, not only on me but my whole family and my close community. I appreciate everything."

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Max Holloway gets 100% real about potential UFC White House feature

Max Holloway is excited about the possibility of fighting on the White House lawn next year. After Donald Trump announced that the America250 celebrations would include a UFC card going down in the White House, many fighters expressed their keen interest in featuring in that event.

Like Jon Jones and Conor McGregor, Holloway recently expressed his willingness to fight on the UFC White House card and said:

"On the lawn, bro? You know what I mean? My first ever amateur kickboxing fight was in a lawn. Why not headline a fight at the White House on the lawn? Would be ridiculous. That'd be huge. That'd be cool."

He continued:

"Getting to be able to do that would be huge. Then maybe they do something like, on the bonuses, you don't pay taxes or something. Instead of taking money just say, 'No taxes for this year for the Performance of the Night winner.' Hell yeah, please."

Catch Max Holloway's comments below (18:19):

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Jake Paul fires back at critics of his WBA ranking after beating Julio Cesar Chavez Jr.

Jake Paul isn't interested in hearing about why he shouldn't be in the WBA rankings. After beating Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. via unanimous decision earlier this month, the former Disney star entered the official WBA rankings, which could enable him to win a world championship.

However, the WBA is reportedly set to review its decision to make Paul a ranked cruiserweight boxer after coming under fire from other ranked contenders. Addressing the backlash in an interview with IFN, Paul recently said:

"I don't f**king know. I should be ranked No. 1. Everyone else can suck a d**k."