Some Major BJJ Belt Promotions in June 2023

June became the month of various BJJ belt promotions in 2023. Various athletes are promoted to the next belt while some of them get a strip on their black belt. ATOS Jiu-Jitsu remains at the top of the list by giving most of the belt promotions this month. In this article, we have some major BJJ belt promotions from different academies.

JT Torres has just got his fourth strip on his black belt and was promoted to fourth-degree black belt. JT Torres was promoted to black belt by Lloyd Irvin in 2009. He left Irvin’s gym and joined ATOS in 2013 and started his BJJ journey under Andre Galvao. Later he opened his own academy named Essential Jiu-Jitsu. In June 2023, he was promoted to fourth degree by his mentor, Andre Galvao. Andre Galvao has announced his fourth-degree promotion through his Instagram post.

Achievements of JT Torres include IBJJF World, Pan, European Open, and ADCC championships. JT Torres was not the single person to achieve his belt promotion in the ceremony. Ronaldo Junior was promoted to first-degree black belt in the same ceremony. Two other athletes who received their black belts are Matheus Menezes and Nicholas Maglicic.

The daughter of Andre Galvao and Angelica Galvao, Sarah Galvao took two gold medals in the IBJJF World Championship in both the medium heavyweight and absolute weight divisions. She achieved this honor in her blue belt division and was promoted to the purple belt division by her parents on the podium of the IBJJF World Championship 2023. She is one of the top female BJJ athletes and it seems that she is taking the place of her father with time.

Shelby Murphey from Art of Jiu-Jitsu also enlisted her name as a world champion and was promoted to black belt by Guilherme Mendes. She became the IBJJF world champion in 2023 in the rooster weight division. Shelby Murphey is a rising talent from a few previous years. She made victories in her color belt division and still continuously improving her skills with the passage of time.

Photo Credit: @galvaobjj