Flavor Flav -- My Daughter Didn't Beat Me Up!!

Flavor Flav says his daughter is getting a bad rap after her arrest this weekend ...claiming she didn't lay a hand on him and the whole thing was just a family dispute that got out of hand.

Flav tells TMZ ... he tried to stop police from arresting Dazayna Drayton -- but cops said they had no choice because Nevada law required police to hook anyone who allegedly strikes a family member.

Flav tells TMZ, "The whole thing was a big misunderstanding that shouldn't have happened. No one in my family called the cops on my daughter and she did not beat me up."