Anthony Pettis is surprisingly glowing in his praise for Conor McGregor

Anthony Pettis isn't about to join the long line of fighters calling out Conor McGregor.

The pair seemed destined for a crash-course when McGregor was well on his way to featherweight gold at the same time as Pettis held the UFC lightweight title but their meeting has been somewhat delayed now that Rafael dos Anjos holds the strap at 155 lbs. And speaking to Kenny Florian and Jon Anik on their podcast this week, Pettis has admitted that he's a massive fan of McGregor, which is something that very few fighters at featherweight or lightweight have been willing to concede. "It's great," Pettis said. "To see the guy talk the talk and then beat Aldo like that. We've had some great guys go down there and try to beat Jose Aldo and it didn't work. [McGregor] comes along talking the talk and then he walks the walk. "You've got to respect that. It's great for the lighter weight classes. He's bringing in the numbers like he says. People want to watch him fight." Not only is Pettis, who meets Eddie Alvarez at UFC Fight Night 81 on Saturday week, not prepared to call out McGregor like so many fighters have done over the past six months but he's actively irritated by those who've done so. "I feel it's annoying to see everybody try to call him out now," Pettis said. "The guy made his name on his own and all these guys are trying to take his shine. "I guess that's the sport. Somebody comes in and creates their name, their buzz gets big and somebody else tries to steal it." Fingers crossed that these two clash at some stage in the future because this would definitely be a super-fight for the fans.