HOUSTON -- Anthony Pettis has been on the sidelines over the past several months, right at the time Conor McGregor's hype vehicle switched over from a train to a rocket ship.

But the former UFC lightweight champion says the current UFC interim featherweight champion is barely on his mind these days.

"Conor's talking and doing his thing," Pettis said at Friday's UFC Fan Club Q&A at Toyota Center. "But he hasn't beat no one yet."

At one point in his career, Pettis was scheduled to go down to 145 and meet Jose Aldo for the featherweight title. But with the way his path is laid out now: A fight on January 17 with Eddie Alvarez, hopefully followed by a chance at regaining the belt he lost to Rafael dos Anjos in April, Pettis isn't thinking about crossing over divisions again any time soon.

"Aldo, he's beat everybody, but he's at 145," Pettis said. "Aldo would be a good challenge for me. With Conor, he hasn't beat anybody yet, so it's hard to tell. If he beats Aldo, then he's legit."

As for Alvarez, whom he meets in Boston, Pettis is all but dismissive of the former Bellator champion.

"Eddie Alvarez is a good fighter, but based on his last two performances, I'm not that impressed," Pettis said. "If I'm in there 100 percent and I fight the way I can fight, I don't think he has a shot."