Elias Theodorou's greatest asset has nothing to do with his infectious smile, hulking frame and flowing brown hair.

In fact, it is not one of his many impressive physical traits at all.

The undefeated middleweight is an unapologetic student, disciplined and humble to the core and always finding new ways to get better at his craft.

"I'm a huge believer that knowledge is power and I'm always learning as a martial artist because the day you think you know everything is the day you get your ass kicked on national TV," the Mississauga, Ontario native told TSN.ca.

Theodorou, who trains at Headrush Training Center - formerly Grants MMA - in Toronto, Ontario, takes his desire to learn as far as it will take him. He has built relationships throughout his martial arts career that have afforded him some dream opportunities.

To prepare for The Ultimate Fighter: Nations finale, in which Theodorou became the first Canadian middleweight victor, he trained with former middleweight title contender and coach on the reality show Patrick Cote at Tiger Muay Thai in Thailand.

Most recently, in preparation for his preliminary card bout at UFC 185 against Roger Narvaez on Saturday, Theodorou was able to work on his jiu-jitsu with the famed Nogueira brothers in Brazil, thanks to his striking coach Sergio Cunha, who trained with the famous family for many years.

He has also worked out at Tristar Gym in Montreal, home to Canadian MMA legend Georges St-Pierre and welterweight title contender Rory MacDonald, and Adrenaline Training Centre in London, Ontario with Canadian UFC veterans Sam Stout and Mark Hominick - to name a few.

While some fighters find comfort at home in their own gyms, the 26-year-old Theodorou and his team try to become comfortable everywhere.

"We've got to dub ourselves Team Nomad and we don't believe that any one particular gym, one particular coach or one particular team has all the answers," he said. "It's all about removing myself from the distractions of life back home and just kind of bringing that momentum back."

It's a labour of love and it is the most important part of his arsenal.

"Honestly, it just tells me that I love what I do and I'm enjoying every second of it and I'm very fortunate to see the world and learn from every single martial artist I get in contact with," he said. "Like I said, I'm a huge believer that knowledge is power and I've been learning very well the last 10 professional outings and I'm looking forward to showing the world this past one."

With ten straight wins to kick off his professional career, including two consecutive wins in the UFC, Theodorou will step into the Octagon with a competitor who has fought against much bigger men.

Narvaez (7-1) began his UFC career at light heavyweight, falling in his first bout to Patrick Cummins before dropping down to middleweight where he captured his first win with the organization in November over Luke Barnatt.

For Theodorou, who says he walks around in the 220-pound range, facing a guy that won't be intimidated by size doesn't change the game plan.

"He's a strong dude and strong at what he does. He's a black belt in taekwondo as well as jiu-jitsu, but in regards to my skill sets and my pace, I'm the bigger and stronger guy in regards to what I want to do," he said. "So I think it'll play out with me picking him up, throwing him around, kicking and punching him, just doing what I want."

If his prediction comes true, there are certainly bigger and better things in the immediate future for the 26-year-old Canadian, however, he won't look past what he's learned and that is a healthy dose of discipline and humility.

"It's chess not checkers and it's a marathon not a sprint so I'm taking everything one step at a time," he said, "and the next step is Roger Narvaez."