Police have been accused of using excessive force after officers were filmed hitting a number of men with their batons as they lay on the ground.

The officers had arrived to break up a violent brawl at Lava Lounge in Melbourne’s south-east, where two large groups had been clashing for more than 40 minutes.

One woman had been knocked unconscious and security guards were attacked and spat on.

One woman, 27-year-old Maddi, was punched in the face by an unknown man and then pepper sprayed by police.

Footage captured by a witness shows one police officer repeatedly hitting one of the brawlers with his police baton as he lies on the ground. (9NEWS)

Maddi, 27, was punched in the face by an unknown man, before being pepper sprayed by police. (9NEWS)

In footage obtained by 9NEWS, one police officer is seen repeatedly hitting one of the brawlers with his police baton as he lay on the ground.

The man who filmed the violence, known only as Kieran, claims he was unlawfully arrested after telling police that he had filmed the aggressive exchange.

In the footage, Kieran is heard telling one officer: “Hope you guys know that I got that on video – you guys hitting them with your batons while they were pepper sprayed on the ground.”

“Alright, so you’ve got evidence of it?” the officer responds.

“Nah, don’t know what you’re talking about,” Kieran is heard to reply.

Kieran told 9NEWS he started filming the violence because “it didn’t feel right”.

Police arrived to break up the huge fight, but witnesses have accused them of using excessive force. (9NEWS)

Two large groups had been clashing for more than 40 minutes by the time police arrived. (9NEWS)

A number of people bruised and scratched in the fighting and security guards were spat on. (9NEWS)

“These people were lying on the ground, they were holding their faces in their hands and they shouldn’t have been getting hit anymore,” he said.

But other witnesses to the fight disagree, saying they believe police did what they needed to do to bring the huge brawl under control.

“Police were fine, I actually thought they went a bit too easy – they’ve got to protect themselves,” one witness, David White, told 9NEWS.

“They just wouldn’t give up these kids, they just wanted to keep on fighting.”

The man who captured the police on camera alleges he was wrongfully arrested after telling officers he had filmed the melee. (9NEWS)

In a statement, Victoria Police said that they are investigating the circumstances surrounding the incident.

“Police deployed OC spray which was not effective and the ground continued fighting,” the statement read.