Gordon Ryan calls himself the king and proudly wears his crown wherever he goes. He can now also call himself the king of the trolls after revealing Felipe Pena has blocked him on Facebook ahead of their Saturday, Dec. 17, superfight at Studio 540 in Solana Beach, California. 

I think I've been less aggressive with my s**t talking for this match, solely because the first time I said anything about Felipe he blocked me on Facebook immediately.

Pena's refusal to engage in an online feud came after Ryan posted the link to our article in which we named Pena as the top black belt under 25 years old back in October 2015. 

"I said he was going to get submitted," Ryan said. "I haven't really said too much after that." 

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Gordon Ryan submits Yuri Simoes in overtime at EBI. Photo: Blanca Marisa Garcia / EBI

Ryan has campaigned hard for matches against the top black belts in the world, and Pena's name was one of many possible opponents. 

"I was always looking to compete against good guys, and Felipe is definitely one of the top guys in the world today," Ryan said. 
 

I think it's interesting, because we almost the same body type. I know he's bigger than me, but we're both kind of long and tall. People like to see those kind of matches. They always asked to see me against Keenan, Felipe, Erberth Santos, Braulio, Roger Gracie. They always wanted to see my against guys of my own body type. That's one of the reasons his name got thrown out there.

Though uncharacteristically quiet ahead of the match, Ryan is definitely taking it seriously. 

He's studied Pena's game and believes he has the answer to the gi and no-gi world champion's techniques. 

"He's got a pretty aggressive guard passing style, and I think he's going to be a problem if he gets to my back. He's known for finishing people from the back. He's known for having a tough X-guard. I think playing from top and passing him will be a challenge." 

Pena's accomplishments alone mark him out as an opponent to be respected: 2016 World Pro absolute champion, 2015 No-Gi World champion, 2015 ADCC silver medalist. 

Not that any of that fazes Gordon. His prediction? 

I think Felipe tries to do a bunch of spazzy guard passes, and I enter under his legs and leg lock him in under ten minutes.