Oliver Taza and Stanley Rosa have just managed to etch their names into the history books at the IBJJF Dallas Open by both becoming the first men to register heelhook victories in the organisation. It’s taken decades, but the world’s premier competition organizer has finally crossed the last boundary in Jiu-Jitsu by legalizing the use of heelhooks and reaping the knee in 2021. Now that the technical floodgates are finally open for the first time, it should be no surprise that the number of heelhook finishes in IBJJF competition will start racking up as every event comes and goes.
Oliver Taza was the one to make the announcement on his official Instagram account, where he revealed that he and Stanley Rosa both managed to claim gold in their respective divisions. Taza finished his first match with a Guillotine before winning the final by heelhook, whereas Rosa actually managed to register both of his victories by way of heelhook. The IBJJF Dallas Open not only represented the first competition that the organization had put on in 2021, but it also represented the first time that Taza was able to compete at black belt since being promoted by John Danaher.
It seems as though Keenan Cornelius was right all along then, as he made a prediction almost immediately after the IBJJF announced the news of their new rule changes. He believed that we would start to see more high-level no gi grapplers competing at IBJJF events now that they had a more open ruleset on offer and with someone as skilled as Taza competing at the Dallas Open, who only knows who we’ll get to see compete at this year’s edition of the IBJJF no gi World Championships.
