"Back up bro she mine" - Wholesome interaction betwen "handsome" Colby Covington and Zhang Weili leaves fans confused 

Colby Covington’s comment on UFC strawweight champion Zhang Weili’s Instagram post left fans wondering about their equation with each other. Weili reclaimed the strawweight crown from Carla Esparza with a second-round submission win at UFC 281 to kick off her second UFC title reign. She secured the first title defense against Brazil’s own Amanda Lemos at UFC 292 via unanimous decision.

Weili expressed her gratitude via Instagram post and thanked everyone that stood by her. Former interim UFC welterweight champion Colby Covington usually does not break the heel character while interacting with fellow fighters irrespective of the weight class or status in the competitive sphere. However, he congratulated the strawweight queen for her dominant win by leaving a comment on her Instagram post.

"So happy for you," Covington wrote.

Covington's comment on Zhang Weili's Instagram post

"Thank you, handsome," Zhang Weili responded.

Weili responded with a friendly message to Covington

The warm interaction left fans confused about their equation. Some did not hold back and sounded off their thoughts in the comments section:

Fan Reactions to Covington and Zhang Weili's interaction [via @zhangweilimma Instagram]

Zhang Weili and Colby Covington’s mutually respectful relationship came to light for the first time at the UFC 268 press conference. The Chinese fighter and ‘Chaos’ shared the stage as title fight challengers.

When a question was posed to her about how it felt to sit next to Colby Covington, Weili addressed the welterweight fighter as ‘handsome’ as they exchanged a pleasant side hug.

Watch the video below, courtesy of GlobalMMA YouTube channel:

Colby Covington is set to challenge for the UFC welterweight title for the third time

Colby Covington’s last title opportunity came at UFC 268 along with Zhang Weili. Both fighters failed to win the strap that night and had to accept close decision losses against Kamaru Usman and Rose Namajunas, respectively.

While Zhang made the most of her title opportunity and became the two-time UFC strawweight champion, Covington is still waiting for his time.

The 35-year-old has not competed since defeating Jorge Masvidal via unanimous decision at UFC 272 in March 2022. He is likely to be next in line to face current UFC welterweight champion, Leon Edwards. While the fight has not been announced yet, it is rumored to take place at UFC 295 on November 11.

The event will be headlined by a heavyweight title fight between champion Jon Jones and former title holder Stipe Miocic. The welterweight showdown between Edwards and Covington, if finalized, will serve as the co-main event.