Shelby Murphey is one of the top prospects rising through the ranks at Art of Jiu-Jitsu, and she’s just been promoted to black belt after winning the brown belt roosterweight division at the IBJJF World Championship 2023. She’s been a promising talent for the past few years and has been steadily developing during her journey through the coloured belt ranks, becoming more and more impressive as time goes on. Murphey has been an important figure in the growth of the team at AOJ, one that is founded on the premise of turning young athletes into world champions.
She already would have had some great training with a fellow product of the AOJ kid’s program, Jessa Khan, but recent changes have really strengthened the women’s team under the Mendes brothers. Earlier this year, elite black belt Mayssa Bastos announced her decision to join AOJ and her presence in training will no doubt be a huge benefit to young grapplers like Murphey. She isn’t alone either, as top European competitor Margot Ciccarelli also announced her decision to start training under the Mendes brothers.
The women’s black belt team at AOJ has very quickly turned into a force to be reckoned with and now that Shelby Murphey has been promoted, it’s likely that fans start to see them dominating the podium in the women’s divisions for years to come. Naturally it’s a big step up in competition from brown to black belt, but if past performances are anything to go by then Murphey will be one to watch over the next few years. It’ll be interesting to see how she’s able to perform at the highest level of the sport, and how she’s able to improve in the years to come.
Shelby Murphey announced the news that she was promoted to black belt on the podium after winning the IBJJF World Championship 2023 in a recent post to her official Instagram account:
