If UFC fans didn't know Nazim Sadykhov before, they do now ... after the 11-1 fighter stunned the MMA world with one of the most insane comebacks in recent history -- and he did it with Merab Dvalishvili in his corner!

TMZ Sports spoke to the 31-year-old rising lightweight star just days after he defeated Nikolas Motta in Baku, Azerbaijan (a country he once called home as a young boy) ... a fight so good Dana White blessed him with a double bonus check -- Fight of the Night and Performance of the Night!

If you watched, you know the first round didn't exactly go as Nazim planned. In fact, he was on the receiving end of a 70-something strike combo, which he somehow not only survived, but ate without appearing too hurt.

"In the moment, I'm just thinking, okay, he got me nice. He's unloading on me. But I'm just hoping the ref doesn't think I'm more hurt than I am, because that was my worry. I saw the ref with the corner of my eye. I just saw him kind of hesitate a few times or get a closer look or whatever," Sadykhov explained.

"I was just trying to do anything possible. I tried to even drop down for a takedown. He didn't stop. I tried to grab him up, and he just wasn't stopping. He threw a 75-punch combination. But I'm happy the ref saw that I was okay to keep fighting, and then the rest unfolded before your very eyes."

And, did it ever. In the second round, Nazim turned the fight on its head, landing a flurry of strikes, including a beautifully placed right hook to Motta's jaw.

Game over -- with 43 seconds left in the second round.

Making the moment even more special than it already was, Nazim's training partner, teammate, and friend -- the bantamweight champion -- was there to watch, and it meant a ton.

"I've seen [Merab] come from long construction work days and come to the gym and train," Sadykhov said, recalling when neither men was a professional. "All this time later, he defends his belt, goes to (the country) Georgia, and then I'm having my fight in my homeland, Azerbaijan. That was like an hour flight for him, maybe less."

Nazim continued ... "He comes over and he's in my corner, and he's the champ. He's doing his thing in his life and career. I'm doing things in mine, and for all of it to just come together in this way, it was just literally written by the man upstairs."

Check out the full interview with Sadykhov ... who already has an opponent AND a fight location in mind for his next scrap.