Greg Hardy will meet his most experienced opponent to date when he steps in the cage for his fourth professional MMA bout later this year.

Hardy (3-0), the former NFL standout who earlier this week was confirmed to compete at December’s Island Fights 51 event on UFC Fight Pass, will take on Miles Dakota Merritt (3-3) in a heavyweight matchup, a UFC official told MMAjunkie.

Merritt, 29, will return to action from a more than two-year layoff for the bout. The 6-foot-7 fighter has competed at super heavyweight during his career and, over his six fights, has earned all his victories by knockout and suffered all his losses by decision.

“I’m excited to get this fight and opportunity,” Merritt stated. “I just love to fight and this is a big fight for me. We are going to have a great fight for the fans. We both attack from the first bell. The guys he’s been knocking out have gone backwards, trying to keep Hardy off. I’m not going to do that. There’s no running in the ring. The best course of action is to attack him right from the start. That’s what I will do Dec. 21.”

Island Fights 51 takes place Dec. 21 at Pensacola Bay Center in Pensacola, Fla. Hardy’s fight against Merritt, along with the rest of the card, will be available on the UFC’s online-subscription service.

Thus far Hardy, who was an NFL standout prior to his well-documented, unceremonious exit from the league, has dismantled every opponent who has agreed to face him. All three of his wins come by first-round knockout and have lasted a combined total of 2:08.

After winning some amateur fights, Hardy was inked to appear on Dana White’s Contender Series over the summer. He won his first bout in 57 seconds at DWCS 9 and was granted a developmental deal by the UFC brass. Hardy was brought back a few weeks later and scored another knockout, but this time in just 17 seconds at DWCS 16.

He most recently competed at Xtreme Fight Night 352 in September and scored a 53-second knockout over Rasheem Jones, which “impressed” UFC President Dana White.

Those three knockouts still weren’t enough to land Hardy, 30, in the UFC. Perhaps a win at Island Fights will lead the controversial figure to a spot on the big stage in 2019.

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