“You don’t have to think about the fight, you know you did something good, (conquered) a big challenge. I’m sure every fighter does this because when you know you’re fighting your next opponent, I’m sure you’re training hard because you know your opponent is training hard, so you cannot miss any practice; you have to do your best. When training camp will be done, weight cut will be done, and finally, in the fight, when you beat your opponent, this feels the best.”

So does this mean that “The Machine” will actually take a little downtime following this weekend’s bout with Sandhagen.

“Yes, one day, for sure; just enjoy and not think about the fight,” said Dvalishvili, who has been known to get right back to work following his fights. “Give the fans, some family members love back, some time spent with them; this is the best.”

Before he can take a whole day off, he needs to get through Saturday’s showdown with Sandhagen at T-Mobile Arena, and just like ahead of his fight with O’Malley in June, Dvalishvili is talking about bringing a little something new to the Octagon again this weekend.

“I’m looking to knock him out; that’s what I’m looking for, but we’ll see,” he said, making sure to acknowledge the difficulty of putting away a guy like Sandhagen and the myriad variables that factor into how each fight plays out. “It’s an MMA fight, but I’m gonna show my hands more.

“It’s gonna be more striking and I’m looking to knock him out.”