Henry Cejudo Contemplates Putting Harvey Levin In Headlock On 'TMZ Live'

Harvey Levin is counting his lucky stars on Friday -- the TMZ boss came face-to-face with former UFC champion Henry Cejudo ... and somehow talked his way out of getting put in a headlock.

Hear that?? The newsroom just let out a collective sigh.

The playful interaction went down in the middle of the "TMZ Live" stream just minutes ago ... when Harvey got a text from a former staffer warning him that Triple C was around and looking to put an MMA move on him.

When Henry came over, Harvey nervously asked if it would hurt .... and his "maybe" response wasn't too convincing.

Thanks to a change in subject, Harvey evaded getting put in a headlock ... and wound up asking Henry about his new company, One Water, instead.

It turns out the agua was pretty good ... 'cause Harvey gave it to Henry straight -- he liked the taste and the grip of the bottle.

Ultimately, Harvey asked why we were giving Henry a free ad ... so we'll send our invoice to Mr. Cejudo by end of day.

Cejudo also sat down with Babcock ... where the guys chopped it up about Triple C's new short film, Self Custody!