Dana White has modestly confirmed that he contributed to Ben Askren’s life-saving double lung transplant.Former UFC star Askren successfully underwent the surgery this week before reflecting on the frightening ordeal in a harrowing statement from hospital, saying he ‘died four times’ while fighting for his life.@benaskren - InstagramAskren, 40, addressed the public this week in an update on his health from hospital[/caption]The MMA community had pulled together to pray for Askren when he was originally rushed to the hospital in June, with the only updates to fans coming by way of his wife, Amy Askren, who confirmed her husband had been diagnosed with ‘severe pneumonia.’White, who kept quiet on his part in supporting the former UFC welterweight, was asked about Askren’s recovery after his promotion’s return to Nashville on Saturday night.“I usually don’t talk about that stuff, but yes, I did,” the 55-year-old said when asked if he supported his ex-fighter.“We reached out to his wife as soon as we heard and told her, ‘If there’s anything you need.’“And yes, I did… I just don’t like talking about that. That’s between us [and the family].White had just watched Derrick Lewis score a 35-second KO win over Tallison Teixeira in the main event of UFC Nashville when he addressed the media.The card had also witnessed Stephen Thompson suffer his third consecutive defeat after losing to Gabriel Bonfim via split-decision, while Steve Garcia and Morgan Charriere both picked up wins.White’s comments followed his original response to Askren’s first public health statement.“I saw that popping up on my feed,” he told the Full Send podcast. “He doesn’t even look the same… [do] you know the kind of shape you’ve got to be in to go through what that f***ing guy just went through? UFC CEO White confirmed he reached out and supported the Askren familyGetty“It’s unbelievable. I don’t know all the details. I think it started with staph, and from staph it ended up f****** up his lungs somehow, from what I understand.“I reached out to his wife a few times… I’m sure she was an absolute f****** wreck.“But it’s good to see him wake up.”White isn’t the only prominent figure in the combat world to have supported Askren during his health struggles.YouTuber-turned-professional boxer Jake Paul, who boxed Askren in 2021 three years before sharing the ring with Mike Tyson, reportedly donated a whopping $500,000 to the Askren family to cover the transplant.He had previously said it ‘sucked’ that no one was doing anything to help Askren receive the life-saving procedure.Askren, an elite wrestler, fought in the UFC three times in 2019Getty“Shout out to Ben Askren,” Paul wrote on X, responding to Askren’s first words since the transplant.“Just proved that he’s one of the toughest fighters of all time.”Askren had said: “What’s up guys, [I] have not given you an update in a while, [so I] figured you deserved one.“I actually read through my wife’s journal because I don’t remember anything from May 28 to July 2. “No recollection, no idea what happened. We’ll kind of go through it all.“I just read through my wife’s journal and it was like a movie. I only died four times, where the ticker stopped for about 20 seconds. “But I got the double lung transplant. I made it on the other side of it, gaining quite a bit of strength.”Askren then revealed he weighed just 147lbs (66kg) – a weight he claimed he hasn’t been ‘since I was 15 years old’.