Zhang Weili is as vicious as they come when the Octagon doors shut. Her demeanor outside it, however, is almost like that of a different person.

The reigning UFC strawweight champion had every right to enter her latest title defense at UFC 312 with a chip on her shoulder. Tasked with facing dominant star wrestler Tatiana Suarez, Zhang entered her eighth career UFC title bout as the betting underdog.

Zhang, 35, went out and proved all her doubters wrong (myself and the majority of our Uncrowned staff included) by battering the previously undefeated Suarez en route to a unanimous decision win. While Suarez brimmed with a seemingly unshakable confidence ahead of the fight, China's Zhang never made her American foe out to be an enemy outside of the cage. After all was said and done, Zhang revealed on "The Ariel Helwani Show" that the two rivals even shared a sentimental moment later in the night.

"After the fight, I went to a restaurant, and I actually ran into Tatiana," Zhang said through a translator. "Her entire family was in the same restaurant. I really wanted to go up to her and give her a hug, but I was hesitating because I don't know how to approach that situation. Eventually, I got some of my courage and I walked up to her and gave her a hug. She was very sweet as well.

"What I wanted to say was that this is how the sport is, right? We are opponents in the Octagon, but that doesn't mean anything. We can still become friends outside the cage."

Should an unlikely bond sprout from their 25-minute contest, Suarez wouldn't be the first foe turned friend for Zhang. Earlier in the night at UFC 312, the broadcast gave a backstage look as the champion prepared; sneaking up behind Zhang for a surprise hug was former UFC strawweight champion and all-time great Joanna Jedrzejczyk.

Zhang and Jedrzejczyk's first fight in March 2020 is widely considered to be the greatest women's title fight of all time. Despite Zhang coming out the victor by split decision, they put aside their differences following a June 2022 rematch, which ended with a Zhang knockout and Jedrzejczyk's MMA retirement.

For Zhang, befriending one of her greatest rivals came naturally.

"As soon as my fight got confirmed, I texted [Jedrzejczyk] saying, 'Hey, would you come to Sydney to watch me fight?'" Zhang said of Jedrzejczyk's cameo at UFC 312. "She came, that's great, and we also hung out together before.

"The reason we got really close was because I feel that she's a really authentic, real person. I feel like, hey we can become friends with this girl, so that's how the friendship started."

Coincidentally, Zhang may have an opportunity to keep following in Jedrzejczyk's footsteps after the Suarez win. She's now tied her Polish counterpart's record of five total UFC strawweight title defenses.

According to the reigning champion, UFC 312 almost saw her pursue UFC gold in a second division.

"I always wanted to go up one weight class, but it's never good timing," Zhang said of nearly challenging flyweight champion Valentina Shevchenko at UFC 312. "For very quite a long time, I was a little bit confused, like, 'OK, who should I fight? Because they all have their own arrangements and matches. But eventually it will work out with UFC because I really want to get a fight.'

"There's no concrete plan or ask from our side just yet. I'm willing to fight Valentina, but again, timing has to be right. Everything has to play in our favor, then it could happen."

After Jedrzejczyk dropped the strawweight title in 2018, she competed for the vacant 125-pound crown against Shevchenko. The fight was the launching point for Shevchenko's dominant and historic reign in the division before she dropped and then reclaimed the crown in a trilogy of fights against Alexa Grasso.

Ultimately, Zhang wants to challenge herself to the best of her abilities, whether that means a Shevchenko title bid or another title defense in her own weight class once a worthy challenger emerges. The champion just isn't so sure she'll be ready to relinquish her strawweight throne.

"Anything works. If we ended up in the flyweight [division], then I don't have to go through so much pain to cut weight. Why not?" Zhang said.

"UFC kind of wants me to, if I actually go up to 125 [pounds], just kind of stay in there — don't move [back down] again. But that's something I need to consider myself."