President Maduro called out Musk on national television this morning ... challenging Musk to fisticuffs in a bizarre rant where he told Elon anyone who came up against him "dries up."

You should watch the video for yourself ... but, ultimately Maduro's making it clear -- EM only needs to name a time and place for the brawl, and Maduro will come ready to kick his ass.

The tech billionaire's taken quite a few shots at President Maduro in recent days ... with Elon claiming the recent election down in Venezuela that Maduro won was stolen and railing against Maduro's left-wing leanings. Maduro is a socialist, BTW.

After Maduro challenged him to the brawl, Musk actually accepted -- so, get the Octagon, boxing ring, or Thunderdome ready 'cause it's (seemingly) on between these heavyweights!!!

Musk also told an X user he thinks Maduro is gonna chicken out of the fight -- something he claims Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg did last year after weeks of negotiating on a massive billionaire v billionaire brawl ... so, it remains to be seen if this'll actually happen.

Remember ... Dana White told us last year Mark and Elon were serious about brawling -- and, we even heard they might fight at the Colosseum in Rome, so Elon's no stranger to hyping up a big fight.

As to whether this one will go down ... that's a whole other can of worms. Maduro's got enough trouble on his hands with the whole world venting frustration about his country's election and the ugly aftermath that's followed.

Venezuelans have taken to the streets to topple statues, light fires and clash with riot police since Maduro -- who many see as an authoritarian dictator -- claimed victory.

Only one way to settle this ... bare-knuckle brawl for the future of Venezuela!!! Also ... who ya got???