UFC middleweight contender Kelvin Gastelum sees Conor McGregor’s insult and raises it.

Gastelum appeared Monday on “Ariel Helwani’s MMA Show” and fired back at the former two-division champ for his post-UFC 234 dig.

McGregor (21-4 MMA, 9-2 UFC) mocked Gastelum (16-3 MMA, 10-3 UFC) for donning a UFC belt – later said to belong to UFC flyweight champ Henry Cejudo – outside the octagon and called attention to the effects of a staph infection the middleweight grappled with earlier in the week (via Twitter).

Gastelum escalated the verbal feud with a dig at tabloid reports of a paternity dispute with a woman claiming McGregor sired her child.

“Oh my god, you want to talk about a leper? A guy that’s full of disease that’s spreading disease all over Ireland? That’s Conor McGregor,” Gastelum said today. “He’s spreading his seed all over Ireland, impregnating ladies and not claiming them. That dude’s a leper. Forget him.”

Gastelum returned stateside without the real UFC belt he hoped to win by dethroning current champ Robert Whittaker (20-4 MMA, 11-2 UFC) , who was forced out of UFC 234 when he underwent emergency surgery for a collapsed bowel and hernia.

Gastelum is now claiming he’s the champ while UFC 234 co-headliner Israel Adesanya (16-0 MMA, 5-0 UFC) believes he’s the next contender after outpointing ex-champ Anderson Silva (34-9 MMA, 17-5 UFC).

McGregor, who’s currently serving a six-month suspension for his role in the infamous UFC 229 brawl, watched this past Saturday’s event, just as he’s done for several UFC fights cards earlier this year.

After watching ex-champ Jose Aldo triumph earlier this month at UFC on ESPN+ 2, McGregor relished a return to Brazil. And Silva’s gutsy decision loss made him amenable to a showdown proposed by the former 185 pound kingpin.

This time, McGregor’s words have ignited another feud. But that’s nothing new in the world of the Irish UFC star.

For complete coverage of UFC 234, check out the UFC Events section of the site.