Flavor Flav was on the receiving end of a brutal beatdown in Vegas ... TMZ has learned.
Law enforcement sources tell TMZ ... the attack happened Tuesday at the South Point Casino. Flav told cops the suspect, Ugandi Howard, accused him of somehow disrespecting his mother, and then started swinging. Flav says Howard punched him in the face, and kicked him while he was on the ground.
Flav told cops he only went down because he pulled a groin muscle.
Cops say casino security took Howard into custody. When officers arrived, he was cited for battery and released. Flav went to a hospital to get checked out, but only suffered minor injuries.
Of course, the whole thing was captured on casino surveillance video, and law enforcement tells us it shows Howard throwing the first punch.