Greg Hardy's Goin' Down in MMA Fight, Says His 1st Opponent

Greg Hardy's first MMA opponent has a message for the former NFL star ...

I'M GETTIN' THE W, SON!!

FYI, Greg's fight is on Nov. 4 at Rise of a Warrior 21 ... and we got the man who's gonna meet him in the cage -- Joe "The Legend" Hawkins -- to give us the low-down on their scrap.

Joe's got nothing but respect for Hardy ... but told TMZ Sports he ain't gonna take it easy on him.

"I’m gonna be incredible," Hawkins said. "I see the referee raising my hand."

Joe's also inviting Dana White to grab a ringside seat ... 'cause his goal is to make it to the UFC one day.

First, he's gotta beat Hardy ... who's also been training his ass off in camp.