Corey Anderson: 'Everything I have in an adult life, it came because of Ben Askren'
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When Corey Anderson first met Ben Askren, he was a college wrestler already racking up plenty of accolades. He had no idea how that encounter would change his entire life.
Impressed by Anderson's mentality and the way he approached competition, Askren—a two-time National Champion wrestler and 2008 Olympian—invited Anderson to train with him and suggested he pursue a career in mixed martial arts. That influence worked because Anderson ended up training with Askren before eventually earning his spot on The Ultimate Fighter reality show, which served as a launching pad for his career where he's remained one of the top light heavyweight fighters for the past decade and served as the final 205-pound champion in Bellator history.
Askren is currently hospitalized following a severe case of pneumonia that actually led to him undergoing a double lung transplant. While Askren's wife Amy has been providing constant updates on his condition, Anderson admits seeing his friend and mentor going through something like this has really hit close to home.
"It hits my wife more," Anderson told MMA Fighting. "I'm not an emotional guy. Like right now I feel when you mention Ben's name, the tears start rolling behind the eyes. Every night we do the prayer thing for him. I come in from the gym or wherever and I can hear her in there on the Zoom and every time she comes out with tears in her eyes.
"It's just like any time we talk about the situation or someone posts [something] and she shares it to me and we start talking about it, I can see her hurting."
The reason why Anderson's wife Jennifer was so affected by Askren's current medical situation is because he's played a huge part in both of their lives.
In fact, if not for Askren, Anderson and his wife would have never met.
"Not just my career but my life—my life wouldn't be what it was if it wasn't for Ben," Anderson said. "That's not just competing. That's my life. I met my wife because of Ben Askren. I have two beautiful kids. I have a wife. I've got a fight career. It's kind of like everything I have in an adult life, it came because of Ben Askren.
"Because this guy invited me to an MMA gym and the day I walked into an MMA gym, my wife was working behind the desk that day. That's when I first met her. Years later we ended up starting a relationship and then she moved here."
After leaving his college in Wisconsin and eventually moving on to compete full time in MMA, Anderson has traveled to numerous gyms when it comes to training for his upcoming fights, but Askren has remained a constant presence throughout his career.
Anderson says any time he ever needs advice, Askren is almost immediately one of the first people he contacts.
"Every time we go back home, we go visit Ben," Anderson said. "If I have an issue in the fight game, even right now before I've got a fight and before I got a fight, [my wife told me] message Ben. If I've got anything like Ben, what can I do to promote myself better without trying to sell my soul? I'll reach out to Ben. Anything, I reach to Ben when I have an issue.
"The two people I talk to: Ben Askren and Eddie Alvarez. The two people that's been in the game the longest that are the biggest mentors to me that can guide me in the right direction because they've seen it all and they've done it all."
Anderson admits it's been tough these past few weeks with Askren hospitalized, but the former Bellator and ONE champion is constantly in his thoughts and prayers.
Even as he prepares for his upcoming return to action at PFL Africa card next Saturday, Anderson never stops thinking about how Askren is doing as he continues to recover from his lung transplant.
More than anything, Anderson can't wait to finally pick up the phone and hear Askren's voice on the other end again.
"[Ben Askren] pretty much brought me in a direction for the life I have from my wife, from MMA, the first MMA gym I've ever been in, coached me in college and got me to the NCAA National Finals," Anderson said. "All these different things he's done, he even gave me places to hunt for my hunting channel. It's all because of Ben. You can't really do nothing to help.
"I just want to call and talk to him. Even if he doesn't say anything back. Witness to him. It's a weird situation. You just keep praying on it and hope he comes out [OK]."
