11:44 PT - The Michael Jackson impersonator who took down a guy who was trying to fight him is talking about what exactly led to this confrontation ... and it sounds like it was a random attack from someone who did not have it well, so says MJ himself.

We talked to an artist santana-jackson on "TMZ Live" to get a beat for beat ... and he really makes it seem like this came out of nowhere, unprovoked. See how he explains the story ... SJ claims that the man in green hit him for no reason, which set things in motion.

As Santana mentions for us here, he's been training in professional wrestling for a while now - he's on the independent circuit - so he knew how to suppress the guy, noting that he would not hurt him more than he should . Eventually the police showed up ... and Santana says they also got a taste of the action.

As you can see, Santana uses his MJ skills to the maximum while inside the square circle. The perpetrator from Fremont Street was apparently pulled into jail ... while Santana continued with his act. What a pro!