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Conor McGregor told us to ask the UFC who his opponent will be on Jan. 18 ... so we did. And, Dana White says the fighter they're targeting is Donald "Cowboy" Cerrone.

But, there's a HUGE catch ... Dana tells TMZ Sports the deal isn't done yet -- not even close.

"We have nothing done, nothing is even close to being done. So, I hate to even talk about this stuff and say it because it might not happen ... it might happen. But, were looking at Cowboy."

White says the fight would be a lightweight bout between the #3 ranked fighter, Conor McGregor, and the #5 ranked fighter, Cowboy ... at the T-Mobile Arena in Vegas.

There are rumblings that Justin Gaethje is still in the picture in case Cowboy doesn't sign the contract ... but based on the conversation we had with Cerrone earlier this week, he's ALL ABOUT IT. Stay tuned on that one.

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Meanwhile, White is gearing up for UFC 244 on Saturday at Madison Square Garden ... where President Trump is expected to attend.

We asked Dana if he was concerned about his two outspoken main event fighters saying anything crazy to POTUS when they get the mic after the fight ... and White basically said there's no controlling guys like Nate Diaz and Jorge Masvidal.