Ultimate Regimen

WITH LESS than two months until his title defense against Quinton (Rampage) Jackson , Ultimate Fighting Championship light heavyweight titleholder Chuck Liddell , 37, has headed to the hills of Arroyo Grande , Calif. , to train at an outdoor compound known as The Pit. "It's one of those raw places that you heard about growing up but thought was folklore," says Liddell , who first trained there 16 years ago, while he was a collegiate wrestler at Cal Poly. In that Pit debut Liddell—now nicknamed the Iceman—sparred against the facility's owner, John Hackleman, for 19 straight minutes. "I took a beating," Liddell admits. "I had a catcher's mitt for a face. But he has been my trainer ever since."

Hackleman, a 10th-degree black belt and former Army boxing champion, leads Liddell through twice-daily workouts with 14 other mixed-martial-arts fighters. "A lot of guys don't last because they hate these medieval workouts," says Hackleman, 47. "But there is no New Age exercise or machine that's better for you than pushing a wheelbarrow up a hill."

With a 20--3 career record and coming off a Dec. 30 title defense (above, left), against Tito Ortiz , that drew about $40 million in pay-per-view sales, the 6'2", 204-pound Liddell swears by his hard-core regimen. Here are some highlights.