Zach Makovsky never made it to the PIAA wrestling tournament in Hershey during his time at Bethlehem Catholic. He eventually worked his way from walk-on status on Drexel's wrestling team into a scholarship in the program.

If that says anything about Makovsky, it's that he's possibly a late bloomer, but he's also undoubtedly a consistent hard-worker.

All that has led Makovsky to a career fighting in MMA, which led to a contract with UFC in 2013.

The 31-year-old fighter is now gearing up for the biggest fight of his life on May 23 at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, when he battles John Dodson in a key flyweight division (125 pounds) bout against the second ranked fighter in the world during UFC 187.

It's been a long journey for Makovsky fighting through the regional ranks, Bellator Series and ultimately to his contract with UFC, as he's unquestionably become the area's most successful MMA fighter.

Now he hopes to continue to climb the ladder.

"When I started doing this, I did it because it was fun and I enjoyed the training," he said from his Philadelphia home. "I started doing well and then became a champion in a couple organizations before signing with UFC in 2013. Now that I'm at the highest level of fighting in the world, my goal is to do the best that I can and this fight [against Dodson] is a huge step in that direction."

Makovsky is 19-5 in his MMA career and 3-1 in UFC so far. With Dodson (16-6, 5-1) sitting as the second ranked fighter in the weight class, a victory by Makovsky could lead to a potential matchup for the title against top-ranked Demetrious Johnson.

With Makovsky, ranked 10th in his weight class, able to fully support himself through fighting now, the stakes of this upcoming fight are big, not only from a career path, but also in the financial realm.

"I've been fortunate to make enough money doing this over the years," Makovsky said, "but we all know the better we do, the more opportunities come too. That's why I'm training with the best people that I can find that mesh with my skill level."

Makovsky prides himself on being a student of the sport and mastering all elements of MMA to the best of his ability.

He's obviously done a good job with that so far to get to this point, but his training will take him to Montreal for a month in preparation for next month's fight.

Prepping for Dodson includes awareness of his penchant for dropping a hard left handed punch, as Makovsky is familiar of his opponent's strength.

"He's mostly known for his boxing," he said of Dodson. "He's got the biggest knockout punch in the weight class.

"I just try to be very technical and mix it up as a much as possible. I've trained with John several times in the past and we know each other. It's tough fighting a guy that you're friends with, but it's part of the gig."

Years of battling is part of the gig as well for any fighter looking to make a career out of MMA and Makovsky knows he doesn't have much longer.

"I'm not getting any younger," he said in reference to being 31. "If I can keep my body healthy, I still have a couple of good years left, which is why I want to make the most of this time. I'm just looking to do my best in this fight and take it from there."

Makovsky's fight will be nationally televised on Fox Sports 1 on May 23, a part of UFC's 187 event, which is a card of 12 bouts on the night.

Coverage of the preliminary card will begin at 8 p.m. before the main card switches over to Pay-Per-View, where five bouts will be shown headlined by the light heavyweight title between champion Jon Jones and Anthony Johnson.