Puka Nacua Fighting to Delay Key Witness From Being Questioned in Bite Lawsuit

Puka Nacua wants to push back a key witness' deposition in a lawsuit alleging he bit a woman ... but his accuser, Madison Atiabi, says his legal team waited until the last second to throw a flag.

According to new court docs, obtained by TMZ Sports, Atiabi wants a judge to let the witness, Zoe Harvey, testify remotely Friday as planned -- despite Puka's objection.

Harvey could be a major witness. Atiabi says she saw the alleged New Year's Eve biting incident and its aftermath ... and is believed to have taken one of the first photos of the bite mark allegedly left on Atiabi's shoulder.

Atiabi says the L.A. Rams wide receiver's legal team had 17 days' notice but waited until Monday to object ... claiming one of his attorneys had a mediation that presented a conflict.

Her lawyer calls it the "oldest trick in the book" ... pointing out Harvey already cleared time from her full-time job and graduate-school schedule to testify from the East Coast.

Puka's camp says nobody's ducking the witness -- they just can't make the date. His attorneys claim Atiabi's lawyer picked Friday without checking their schedules and insist there's no reason the deposition can't happen another day.

The defense offered to do it over the weekend or after Sept. 7 ... and wants both sides ordered to settle on a new date.

As we reported, Atiabi sued Puka in March ... claiming he bit her shoulder during a NYE outing and blurted out,  "F*** all the Jews" at a dinner.

TMZ also obtained video showing Atiabi twerking near a passed-out Puka later that night.

Puka's side owned up to the bite, but chalked it up to horseplay. As for the alleged antisemitic comment ... Puka's attorney, Levi McCathern, insisted there were sober witnesses who denied the words were ever uttered.

Atiabi initially sought a temporary restraining order against Puka, but later dropped the request to focus on her civil suit ... while Puka checked into a Malibu rehab facility for "personal growth," which his attorney said was unrelated to the allegations.