The crazy battle went down Tuesday in San Pedro de Macorís -- a small town on the southern part of the island -- and the footage of this altercation is absolutely unbelievable ... seriously looking like something straight out of a movie.

The two combatants face offer outside a gas station, with machetes and swinging -- steel slashing against steel on the sidewalk. They exchange wild hacks, and, at first, it seems like one man may have the advantage as he forces his opponent to the ground.

Somehow, the man on the ground fends off his attacker with a series of kicks and slashes from his back, forcing his way to his knee ... and cutting off his opponent's hand at the wrist.

After his hand's slashed off clean, the injured man runs away from his attacker ... who walks in the other direction -- with his shirt completely covered in blood. Despite being down a limb, the maimed man walks calmly to his severed hand, picks it up and heads off on his way.

Local reports cite eyewitnesses who say the men were actually friends ... and this war was actually over a woman. The injured man was taken to a local hospital, but it's unclear if doctors could salvage the hand and re-attach it.