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.