It served a number of purposes. For one, it was a fresh chance to trot out the old photo of the nuggety 100-kilo bloke in Gorillas garb and run it against newer images of the ripped juggernaut who now makes a living at around 65 kegs.

More than that though, it tells his story in a nutshell, a yarn about a working class lad who poured concrete all week and played footy on weekends before deciding he could earn a better crust with the concrete in his fists.

It made his time in the blue and gold shorter than it might have been, but he's never stopped being a Gorilla. The club recognised as much on Friday, bestowing life membership on the former Michael Cronin Medalist.

It's the latest in a string of honours for a bloke whose popularity in Wollongong knows no bounds. He's the Illawarra Hawks No. 1 ticket-holder and even had the Illawarra Hotel rebrand itself 'The Volkanovski' ahead of his last bout.

This one though... it hits different.

"You know when you hear a song and it takes you straight back to that time and place?" he asks Game On.

Yeah.

"It's kind of like that. A lot of my history is with this club, it's made me who I am. I'm thankful for it because it brings me back, back to my roots.

"It was great to go back, see some of those guys, and let it take me back to that time and that place again."

They're roots he's never forgotten, but his take says a lot about a world champion who's never been more comfortable in his own skin. It's a noticeable shift; subtle yet conspicuous.

People call it 'championship mentality' without really understanding what it means. We observers never truly will, but it comes down to more than how you train in the gym, or what you say in front of microphones.

It's about self regard. Over the last 12 months Volkanovski has been up front about the fact that, for all his achievements in the octagon, he still saw himself as more that famous underdog than the best featherweight to ever do it.

It's a journey. What happens in the cage, in the ring, on the field or on the court is typically something professional athletes have spent a lifetime preparing for.

Becoming public property is something nothing prepares you for. Athletes become professionals through controlling every small moment of their preparation. Control of public perception is flimsy at best.

In sports like those of the combat variety, where fan discourse is so emotionally charged, it can be a much bigger shock. When you dethrone a fan favourite like Max Holloway, which Volkanovski has now done twice, it goes up a notch again.

While the cage has thrown up nothing Volkanovski can't handle, the true wrestling match is with that other stuff. In that world, seeing yourself as an underdog can only take you far.

"I feel like that that underdog mentality has always helped me in the gym," Volkanovski said.

"I've always used what [critics] say in there. It made me work harder because I felt I had something to prove but having that mentality... it got to a point where I felt like it was affecting my confidence.

"When you spend enough time thinking about what people say about you, you can start to believe it."

A shift in that thinking is why he's looked untouchable in his last two outings - a brief interlude in a Brian Ortega guillotine aside. It's also why his upcoming third fight with Holloway in July isn't a quest for vindication.

"I used to care about that and feel I had something to prove but now I just don't care," he said.

"It's always made me work harder, and it still will this time. I'll always have that mentality where [I feel] I'm not doing enough, he's doing more. I do put him on that pedestal when I'm busting my arse on that assault bike.

"I'll think 'this guy's the man', 'you better be ready', 'let's do more on this bike'. Once I get off it, [I know] I'm the best in the world.

"If the first two weren't enough for people and people still want to say he's the man and this is a tough fight, great, let's do it, I just get to prove them wrong again.

"Now I've got the perfect balance where I still have that competitive underdog mentality inside the gym but, at the same time, I have the confidence of a champion."

Not to mention the heart of a Gorilla.

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