If you think professional mixed martial arts is simply about beating people up, you’ve got a lot to learn about the world’s fastest-growing sport.

Top-level fighters study the craft like university students, absorbing instructions from experts in each of the myriad of disciplines that comprise MMA, including jiu-jitsu, wrestling, boxing and Muay Thai.

And as fight night approaches, fighters hustle to drop weight, taking measures so extreme you wouldn’t even see them on The Biggest Loser.

If you don’t believe it, ask Firas Zahabi.

As the head coach for UFC welterweight champ Georges St-Pierre, Zahabi knows how to build an MMA champion. The Montreal-based trainer spends six days a week working with St-Pierre. On Tuesday, he took a few minutes to explain the process of preparing St-Pierre for his April 30 title defence against Jake Shields at the Rogers Centre.

Given your background in Muay Thai and jiu-jitsu, how did you wind up coaching instead of competing in MMA?

I always loved martial arts more than I loved fighting. I didn’t do martial arts because I wanted to be famous or because I wanted to win a tournament. I always did it because I was fascinated with the art. I went to school, I was hoping to become a lawyer one day, but I got a job as a martial arts instructor and it just flowered into what it is today. But even if there was no UFC, I would be doing martial arts.

How do you divide your time between the biggest-name fighter, St-Pierre, and all the other fighters that need your attention?

What’s fair is fair. The guy with the biggest profile fight should get the most attention. He paid his dues to get there. He’s fighting the tougher guy so he needs more help . . . Every fight is important, but you don’t need a whole host of coaches to fight a local fight. If you need a whole host of coaches to win a local fight, you won’t be ready to go international.

Is there a danger of an information overload when a fighter has that many coaches?

If you’re at a beginner level, yeah, it’s an overload. That’s why (fighters) can’t do this at an early level. But Georges is so well-seasoned and his curriculum is so well-developed that when adding a new coach Georges knows what to take and what to leave behind. He’s the final guy to decide and he’s at the point to make these judgment calls. But you can’t do that with a novice.

What are some of the hidden challenges that go with training a world-class fighter?

It’s to create gains. The more highly-trained you are, the harder it is to create gains. If I take a novice weightlifter and make him lift weights he’s going to get stronger, even if I give him the worst strength and conditioning program. But if I take a highly-trained athlete and give him a bad program, his strength levels are going to drop because he was already used to a greater program. That’s the difficulty — not taking a step back.

Fighters often move up in weight as they age, yet St-Pierre has remained a welterweight (170 pounds). How has he been able to do that?

Georges has been getting better at cutting weight. He’s walking around at 194 (pounds). There was a time when he used to walk around at 180 to make 170. He cuts weight so easily we added more muscle.

How do you drop 25 pounds and still retain your strength and explosiveness?

It becomes a game. Now he’s on a protein and vegetable diet. Right now his exercise is significantly cut, but he’s going to shed water. It’s only temporary weight loss. It’s not real weight loss. You’re not dropping fat. (The final weight-cut) lasts about six days . . . By Friday he’ll have six or seven pounds left and we’ll put him in the sauna. I don’t recommend this to anybody, even professional athletes. This is somebody who’s very seasoned.

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As soon as the weigh-in is done (Friday afternoon) we’ll give him a recovery drink. We’ll even give him Prime (a workout supplement by Gatorade, which sponsors St-Pierre) because he needs the carbohydrates that much more . . . he’ll enter the ring at 192 or 193 pounds.

He can gain 22 pounds overnight without losing any speed or alertness?

You tell me after Saturday.