Gegard Mousasi’s direct-message sparring match with Conor McGregor got the UFC middleweight some clicks, but he’s not too worried about a face-to-face.

After the UFC featherweight champ took offense to his post-fight diatribe and they shared a few characters via Twitter direct messaging, Mousasi said it won’t amount to much.

“If he steps up to me and talks, then probably,” Mousasi, the No. 7 ranked fighter in the USA TODAY Sports/MMAjunkie MMA middleweight rankings, told MMAjunkie. “But he’s just talk.”

The perpetually understated Mousasi did his best version of McGregor after UFC 204 and even threw in a few jabs at the featherweight champ, joking he could get a career bump if he recreated the infamous water bottle fracas that netted McGregor a $150,000 fine. He also said fans who ate up the act were “stupid” and said they “just like to see expensive stuff on Instagram.”

According to Mousasi (40-6-2 MMA, 7-3 UFC), who next rematches Uriah Hall (12-7 MMA, 5-5 UFC) in UFC Fight Night 99’s newly announced replacement headliner on Nov. 19, that prompted McGregor to message him with a veiled threat. It didn’t go over too well, judging by his response.

“I said, ’Say it to my face,’ but he’s not going to do that because he’s not going to win,” Mousasi said. “I’m not challenging him. That’s not a fight. The guy, he feels strong words for someone on Twitter.”

Of course, the two will never fight – Mousasi fights at middleweight and light heavyweight, while McGregor is a featherweight who’s fought as heavy as welterweight.

McGregor (20-3 MMA, 8-1 UFC) has a lightweight title fight to worry about at UFC 205, where he meets reigning 155-pound titleholder Eddie Alvarez (28-4 MMA, 3-1 UFC), and then a “big” announcement reportedly to follow.

Mousasi also has bigger things to worry about, namely getting the matchups that will lead him to the title. It’s been a rough road so far for the former Strikeforce light heavyweight champ to gain traction at middleweight, and a few setbacks haven’t helped his case.

But after dispatching ex-champ Vitor Belfort earlier this month – and if he can avenge a loss to Hall when they rematch at UFC Fight Night 99 – that could be changing. Getting a little extra attention by jabbing one of the UFC’s biggest stars won’t hurt either.

Check out the video above for more from Mousasi, and don’t miss the full interview below.

For more on UFC 204, check out the UFC Events section of MMAjunkie. And for more on UFC Fight Night 99, check out the UFC Rumors section of the site.