Hackleman relocated to California in 1985. Inspired by one of his trainers who was a
respiratory therapist, Hackleman went back to school to become a registered nurse. Hackleman who was working as respiratory therapist in a hospital found it difficult to go to the gym every day while working full-time. In 1986, he decided to set up a gym in his garage in
Woodland Hills where his friends from the hospital would come over to workout. This gym would become known as
The Pit which got its name after one of Hackleman's colleagues stated the place was so small, "its like training in a pit". Liddell announced on April 14, 2018 that he was coming out of retirement to target third fight with
Tito Ortiz. Hackleman stated that, while he did not want Liddell to fight anymore, he would still be there to support him. In November 2018, Hackleman called the result of
Liddell vs. Ortiz 3 a travesty where
Tito Ortiz won via first-round knockout. In January 2023 Hackleman said he was retiring from cornering fighters after he tried to call off the fight between his student
Glover Teixeira and
Jamahal Hill at
UFC 283. Hackleman wanted to call off the fight in the fourth round and if he was the chief corner, referee Marc Goddard would have waved off the action in favor of Hill. It turned out that not stopping the fight was the right call as Teixeira managed to take Hill down. Hackleman stated he was concerned about the safety of his fighters and he does not regret stopping the fights early. ==Personal life==