Dana White Says Conor's Fighting Early 2020, Could Fight Diaz Or Masvidal

Conor McGregor's getting closer to his UFC return ... Dana White says The Notorious will fight early next year, and his opponent could be Nate Diaz or Jorge Masvidal.

McGregor hasn't fought since being submitted by Khabib at UFC 229 in October 2018 ... and many fans have wondered if Conor would ever fight again.

The answer to that question is hell yes.

"Early next year."

Khabib rematch??? No, not yet ... according to Dana.

"That's possible too down the road. I think Conor would fight somebody else before that."

That somebody else could be the winner of Diaz-Masvidal -- who are fighting at UFC 244 on November 2 at Madison Square Garden.

Conor against either guy would be HUGE. CM and Nate's first 2 fights are some of the biggest in the history of the UFC.

As for Masvidal ... he and McGregor have been talkin' trash, and both have said they want the fight.

White's previously said Masvidal -- who fights at 170 pounds -- is too big for Conor ... but it looks like the boss changed his mind.

We also talked to Dana about Khabib's future ... and who the lightweight champ will fight next.

"Tony Ferguson is the fight that needs to happen. We've tried to do it 4 other times so hopefully, we can do it this time. But, that's the fight that makes sense."

Khabib's openly said he wants a super fight with UFC legend Georges St-Pierre ... and when we asked White about a Nurmagomedov-GSP fight, he left the door wide open.

"That can happen too. So, we'll see what happens with Tony. Ya know Tony's had opportunities before that he didn't take, so if he doesn't, I'd be interested in talking about GSP."