Comic Cristina Payne Says Comedian Corey Holcomb Is Lying About Altercation

Comic Cristina Payne says comedian Corey Holcomb is lying about their physical altercation outside a popular comedy club ... she says he hit her, not the other way around -- as Corey is now claiming.

We got Cristina in downtown Los Angeles and our photog asked her about Corey's recent legal filing ... a restraining order request where he alleged she sucker-punched him.

Cristina tells us Corey is flipping the narrative when he's really the attacker here ... and she says he's lying to avoid potential jail time and to protect his new comedy gig.

Check out the clip ... Cristina claims Corey came up to her and socked her in the face back in December outside the Hollywood Improv ... and she says it's all on surveillance footage.

Cristina claims she's been beefing with Corey for a dozen years ... ever since he offered her a job on a radio show and she says she rebuffed his sexual advances.

She says he threatened to "super sock this bitch" back in June ... and she says she has witnesses who heard his alleged threat.

Problem is ... Cristina claims Corey has folks who are willing to lie for him to back up his claim that she hit him.

We spoke to Cristina right after she got out of a court hearing for Corey's restraining order ... and a judge has scheduled a hearing for next month.

Cristina was rolling with a man named Jamel Dotson, who says he witnessed the whole thing. Jamel told our photog he was at the Improv on the night in question and says there is security footage showing Corey coming up to Cristina and punching her.

Clearly, Cristina and Corey have wildly different views of what went down ... but it sounds like it will all come out in court.