Volkanovksy travels to Anaheim for a UFC 298 showdown with rookie Topuria next weekend, but he made the trip to Melbourne last month for a rare chat with Patriots icon Brady.
A video of Brady throwing a football to Faulk went viral, with the Australian gaining nearly 200,000 followers on Instagram, taking his following to more than two million.
Even more important was the conversation Volkanovski had with the seven-time Super Bowl champion.
“I'm still chasing a legacy like his, but I can relate to some of the things he talked about,” Volkanovski said in the key announcement.
“He would look in the mirror after some training sessions and say to himself: 'You don't deserve to be here, you don't belong here, you don't deserve this fuss.'
“And it was right when everyone was saying how good he was – he was still the best – but it wasn't good enough for him.
“It's not about being the best, it's about being better than the guy you were the day before.
“Those are things I've always done as well. It's nice to see GOATs in all sports doing that, so I feel like I'm on the right path to achieving that.”
With his featherweight reign extending into its impressive fifth year, Volkanovski is already one of the greats of the sport.
Former bantamweight world champion Daniel Cormier believes he should already be in that conversation, but the Australian says it's definitely still a work in progress.
“People who know this sport can appreciate that I'm not just fighting anyone, I'm taking on the biggest challenges possible,” he said. “But it's still going on. If I haven't done enough for the people yet, I will soon.
“A lot of people are happy to get to the top of the mountain and sit on top. I'm not just happy to be there, I want to keep climbing.
“I want to make it impossible for those other people to access it.”
Which means there's more at stake against Topuria than his belt. There's a legacy at stake, too.
Because, after his first-round knockout loss to Islam Makhachev in October, there are a lot of questions being asked about his title reign, his future in the sport and his status as one of the best in the UFC.
But, like Brady, it's a situation he relishes.
“I love being in that position,” he says. “I thrive on it. There are a lot of questions being asked about my age, but they will all stop next week.
“I want to be better than the last time I was in there. Well… it would be pretty easy to be better than the last time I was in there.
“But don't be surprised if he's shocked, embarrassed and humbled. He's a good fighter, but don't be surprised if you make it look easy.
While his quest for the title may have fueled his rise to the top, Volkanovski looks closer to home, to his wife and three daughters, for inspiration these days.
He doesn't get caught up in the trappings of his success, despite his flying visit to talk to Brady, or the Lake Tahoe vacation he took with Mark Zuckerberg last year.
He trains, fights, makes some appearances, and hangs out at home.
“Nothing,” he says when asked what he sprays on. “I'm doing this for my family, and that's it.
“Maybe when all is said and done, we can spend more, but for now, I'm trying to make my kids good, independent women.
“I want to make sure they're prepared for life, but I want them to earn what's theirs too. That's all that matters.”
“That's why Tom Brady and I went there after practice one night and came back the next day to practice.
“People saw me on Instagram with Mark Zuckerberg, but the next day I went home to be a dad.
“I'm a champion in the cage, but I'm just a regular guy at home, and that's what keeps me grounded. You don't see that version of me (on social media), but it's all I do.
“That's when I'm the best version of myself.”
These shifting motivations explain Volkanovski's decision to fight Makhachev last year as well in just 11 days.
At 35 years old, he knows his days in the sport are limited, and he wants to make sure he doesn't waste any time – even if it means fighting the second-ranked fighter in the world on very short notice.
“I want to stay active, because I don't know how much time I've spent on this, and I'm aware of it,” he says. “I feel good, but how long will you feel good?
“I don't want to wait six months.
“That's why fighting is so simple, it's to keep me active and be the best version of myself and the best father I can be.”
