Ex-Olympic Wrestling Champ Fights Ukranian Cops ... Gets Face Cracked Open

How many Ukranian cops does it take to apprehend a 50-year-old former Olympic wrestling champ?

Seven, actually ... plus a bunch of pepper spray and some batons.

The man who got his face cracked open is Vyacheslav Oliynyk -- who won the gold medal at the '96 Olympics in Atlanta.

Oliynyk was reportedly stopped for drunk driving after celebrating his 50th bday -- but an argument broke out and the guy made it clear he wasn't going to jail quietly.

He squared up ... he put his hands on one of the cops ... and then all hell broke loose.

After the brawl, Oliynyk reportedly told local media, "I admit I was partially guilty, I can’t tell you the whole thing. I’m partly guilty because I did not stop and I was ignoring the police."

"But I am not a criminal. As far as I can see there will be a court hearing and they will punish me somehow because they always do. However the fact that police let me go home on the same day shows I didn’t do anything that bad."