# Oliver Taza

> Lebanese-Canadian Danaher black belt, ADCC Trials winner, Pan No-Gi champion, and one of no-gi's most prolific saddle and heel-hook specialists.

- **Canonical page:** https://ossmeta.com/athletes/oliver-taza
- **Markdown:** https://ossmeta.com/athletes/oliver-taza.md
- **JSON:** https://ossmeta.com/api/public/athletes/oliver-taza
- **Source site:** Ossmeta (https://ossmeta.com)
- **Last updated:** 2026-07-18

## Identity

- **Name:** Oliver Taza
- **Full name:** Oliver Taza
- **Belt:** black belt
- **Team:** Kingsway Jiu-Jitsu / Roll Forever
- **Nationality:** Lebanon / Canada
- **Birthplace:** Beirut, Lebanon
- **Weight class:** Welterweight / Middleweight (77 kg / 169.7 lb)

## Biography

Oliver Taza is a Lebanese-Canadian Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt under John Danaher. He was born in Beirut, Lebanon, in 1993, lived in Saudi Arabia as a child, and moved to Canada at age 14. In Quebec he first chased football (soccer), representing his school and province, before stepping away from the sport around 2012 and walking into Firas Zahabi's Tristar Gym in Montreal. After a short first exposure to jiu-jitsu he focused on boxing, taking six amateur bouts, then returned to Zahabi's grappling classes in February 2014.

Taza progressed unusually quickly. Zahabi guided his early development through purple belt, and Taza began making regular trips from Canada to New York to train at Renzo Gracie Academy with Danaher and the Danaher Death Squad. That no-gi room shaped his competitive identity: saddle control, cross ashi garami, inside heel hooks, outside heel hooks, kneebars, and back attacks. In June 2016, a little more than two years after his full return to grappling, Taza earned his brown belt; later that year he placed second at the ADCC East Coast Trials and won the Canadian Kumite Grand Prix.

The brown-belt years made him a pro-circuit regular rather than a normal colored-belt prospect. In 2017 he won the ADCC European Trials at 77 kg, won the TUFF Invitational in the UK, and entered his first ADCC World Championship. He also captured the 2017 IBJJF World No-Gi Championship as a brown belt. An ACL reconstruction in 2018 removed him from most of that season, but he returned with major no-gi results, including a 2020 BJJ Fanatics 170 lb Grand Prix title run over PJ Barch, John Combs, and Ethan Crelinsten. Danaher promoted him to black belt in New York City on November 9, 2020.

Since the Danaher Death Squad split, Taza has stayed in Danaher's orbit through New Wave Jiu-Jitsu, later appearing in results under Kingsway Jiu-Jitsu and Roll Forever while coaching in Austin. His black-belt resume includes the 2023 IBJJF Pan No-Gi middleweight title, where IBJJF reported that he submitted all four opponents and hit a 15-second heel hook in the final against Kieran Kichuk. ADCC has remained central to his career: he has competed at multiple World Championships, beat Davi Ramos by kneebar in the opening round of ADCC 2024, and reached additional Trials finals including second place at the 2024 West Coast Trials and 2025 European, Middle-Eastern, and African Trials.

Taza's style is one of the clearest modern examples of the Danaher leg-lock system translated into a long professional schedule. BJJ Heroes credits him with a submission-heavy record led by inside heel hooks, outside heel hooks, and kneebars, and Digitsu similarly notes that most of his recorded matches are no-gi. Even when competing in gi or IBJJF rulesets, he tends to use those events as pressure tests for ADCC-style pacing: wrestling entries, guard heists, coyote-guard exchanges, and opportunistic leg attacks against elite welterweights and middleweights.

## Lineage

Carlos Gracie > Helio Gracie > Carlos Gracie Jr > Renzo Gracie > John Danaher > Oliver Taza

## Instructors

- John Danaher
- Firas Zahabi

## Signature techniques / game

- Saddle / cross ashi garami
- Inside heel hook
- Outside heel hook
- Kneebar
- Straight ankle lock
- Reverse triangle
- Rear naked choke / back attacks
- Wrestling entries to leg entanglements

## Major achievements

- 1st Place ADCC European Trials (77 kg, 2017)
- 1st Place IBJJF Pan Championship No-Gi - black belt middleweight (2023); four submissions in four matches
- 1st Place IBJJF European Open No-Gi (2022)
- 1st Place BJJ Fanatics 170 lb Grand Prix (2020)
- 1st Place TUFF Invitational UK (2017)
- 1st Place Canadian Kumite Grand Prix (2016)
- 2nd Place ADCC US East Coast Trials (2016)
- 2nd Place ADCC West Coast Trials (77 kg, 2024)
- 2nd Place ADCC European, Middle-Eastern, and African Trials (77 kg, 2025)
- 2nd Place Jitz King Invitational (2020)
- 2nd Place Para Bellum Quintet Invitational (2020)
- 2nd Place EBI 170 lb Tournament (2022)
- ADCC World Championship competitor (2017, 2019, 2022, 2024); 2024 win over Davi Ramos by kneebar

## Colored belt highlights

- 1st Place IBJJF World Championship No-Gi - brown belt (2017)
- 1st Place ACBJJ European Championship - brown belt gi (2018)
- 1st Place UAEJJF Niagara Falls Pro - brown belt gi (2018)
- 2nd Place IBJJF Pan Championship No-Gi - brown belt (2017)
- 2nd Place IBJJF European Open No-Gi - brown belt (2017)
- 2nd Place IBJJF New York Spring Open - brown belt gi (2018)
- 3rd Place IBJJF World Championship No-Gi - purple belt (2015)
- 2nd Place IBJJF European Open - purple belt gi (2016)

## Official / social links

- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tazagarami/

## Sources

- [BJJ Heroes - Oliver Taza](https://www.bjjheroes.com/bjj-fighters/oliver-taza)
- [BJJ Heroes - Oliver Taza interview](https://www.bjjheroes.com/interview/oliver-taza-interview-the-gi-helps-prepare-for-the-adcc)
- [FloGrappling - Oliver Taza athlete page](https://www.flograppling.com/people/5952140)
- [Digitsu - Oliver Taza](https://digitsu.com/people/oliver-taza)
- [IBJJF - 2023 Pan No-Gi recap](https://ibjjf.com/news/2023-pan-no-gi-results-joao-pedro-rocha-steal-the-show)
- [ADCC - 2024 West Coast Trials results](https://adcombat.com/adcc-events/adcc-west-coast-trials-2024-2nd-qualifier/)
- [ADCC - 2025 European, Middle-Eastern, and African Trials results](https://adcombat.com/adcc-events/adcc-european-middle-east-african-championship-2025-1st-qualifier/)
- [Black Widow MMA - Oliver Taza coach profile](https://blackwidowmma.com/programs--schedules_more-5428-4907-6970)
- [Instagram - @tazagarami](https://www.instagram.com/tazagarami/)

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