Hackleman Wanted To Change Liddell’s Style, Chuck Wanted To Go Out A Banger

“Towards the end of his career I begged him not to so much and he still wouldn’t. He would not stop bangin’. He banged ’till the end. He couldn’t help it. We would spend hours and hours and hours [on it]. We put the little thing down between his chin and his shoulders to keep his chin down. To keep his hands up, I’d put weights in his hands, stuff under his arms. Hours and hours and he would drill it, drill it, drill it. The second he hit someone and just saw that little spark in the eye, that killer instinct would take over and he’d drop his hands to his hips, put his chin up in the air and just start swinging for the knockout. He’d forget everything. When his chin wasn’t quite what it was? He didn’t want to change his style. We didn’t want to turn into a more cerebral game. He wanted to go out a banger and he did.”

During his recent stint on the JRE, legendary trainer to Chuck Liddell, John Hackleman, discussed the final days of Liddell’s career as a fighter.