MMA Star Dave Herman On Taser Arrest -- 'If I Was Black I'd Be Dead'

Former UFC fighter Dave Herman tells TMZ Sports he's lucky to be alive after a violent encounter with police this weekend ... and says if he was black, he'd "probably be dead."

The video was insane -- showing cops using a taser on the 30-year-old heavyweight MMA expert during a stop in Indiana. Herman gets emotional when he tells us how the incident has affected his family.

The DeKalb County Sheriff's Dept. has previously said Herman was speeding and refused to pull over. They also say Herman was aggressive during the stop. Herman says BS.

Herman also says he's POSITIVE he never kicked an officer during the incident -- though he claims an officer put a knee in his back (and joked that his back may have injured the cop's knee).