Oliver Taza was just disqualified at the IBJJF no gi Pan-ams for “smothering” his opponent when he had taken his back, by placing his hand over his mouth. The recently-promoted Danaher Death Squad black belt is a phenomenal grappler under any ruleset but he’s been particularly excited by the recent change of pace that the IBJJF has decided to enact. The IBJJF announced that they would be allowing both heelhooks and reaping the knee in adult brown and black belt competition as of this year, and it was obvious that this would attract a lot more competitors who traditionally held reservations about IBJJF competition.
Oliver Taza was one of the first big names to jump at the opportunity to use techniques he’s incredibly proficient at without the threat of being disqualified, when he and Stanley Rosa registered the first heelhook victories in IBJJF history at the Dallas Open earlier this year. It’s no doubt going to be devastating for Taza then that he put so much into competing in IBJJF competition, thinking that the threat of disqualification was something that was in the rear-view mirror. Of course, realistically the onus is on every competitor to ensure they are fully familiarized with the rules they are competing under and only the athlete themselves can be at fault for being on the receiving end of a disqualification.
For those interested in looking at the latest edition of IBJJF rules, click here for more.
