Carlos André Pederneiras de Castro (born 22 March 1967) is a
Brazilian jiu-jitsu (BJJ) and
mixed martial arts
Mixed martial arts (MMA) is a full-contact fighting combat sport, sport based on strike (attack), striking and grappling; incorporating techniques from various combat sports from around the world.
In the early 20th century, various inter-s ...
(MMA) coach and promoter. A former BJJ competitor, holding today a
Red and Black 7th Degree Coral belt, Pederneiras is a six-time
Brazilian National jiu-jitsu champion. During his short career as an MMA fighter, he challenged
Pat Miletich
Patrick Jay Miletich (; born March 9, 1968) is a retired Americans, American mixed martial arts, mixed martial artist and former sports commentator. He is known for his fights in the Ultimate Fighting Championship, where he became the first UFC W ...
for the
UFC Welterweight Championship
Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) champions are fighters who have won UFC championships.
Historical notes
At the time of the UFC's inception in 1993, mixed martial arts was not sanctioned in the United States, and did not include weight clas ...
in 1999,
and fought at the
Shooto
is a combat sport and mixed martial arts organization that is governed by the Shooto Association and the International Shooto Commission (ISC). Shooto was originally formed in 1985, first as a particular fighting system and then in 1989 as a ...
-run
Vale Tudo Japan
is an annual mixed martial arts competition held in Japan. Originally it was arranged by promoter and former professional wrestler Satoru Sayama; he had previously created a hybrid martial art organization named Shooto in 1985. He arranged VTJ in ...
events.
Pederneiras is the co-founder of
Nova União, one of the top BJJ/MMA academy and team, acting as its leader and MMA head coach until stepping down in 2018 after 21 years.
He is widely regarded as one of the best BJJ and MMA coaches in the world.
Among the numerous champions he produced, Pederneiras is best known for training
José Aldo
José Aldo da Silva Oliveira Júnior (; born 9 September 1986), known as José Aldo, is a Brazilian former professional mixed martial artist and professional boxer who competed in the Bantamweight and Featherweight divisions of the Ultimate F ...
,
B.J. Penn and
Renan Barão
Renan do Nascimento Mota Pegado (born 31 January 1987), known as Renan Barão, is a Brazilian professional mixed martial artist and a former UFC Bantamweight Champion. According to Fight Matrix, Barão holds the third longest unbeaten streak i ...
who all became
UFC
The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion company based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is owned and operated by TKO Group Holdings, a majority owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. The larg ...
champions.
Pederneiras is also the President of Shooto Brasil, the Brazilian branch of Japanese MMA promotion
Shooto
is a combat sport and mixed martial arts organization that is governed by the Shooto Association and the International Shooto Commission (ISC). Shooto was originally formed in 1985, first as a particular fighting system and then in 1989 as a ...
.
Background
Carlos André Pederneiras de Castro was born on 22 March 1967, in
Rio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro, or simply Rio, is the capital of the Rio de Janeiro (state), state of Rio de Janeiro. It is the List of cities in Brazil by population, second-most-populous city in Brazil (after São Paulo) and the Largest cities in the America ...
,
Brazil
Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...
.
When he was 17 years old he joined a gym, originally to train with weight for fitness. However the gym offered
Brazilian jiu-jitsu (BJJ) classes as well so he decided to try it out. He trained with Rodrigo Vieira, a student of
Rickson Gracie
Rickson Gracie (; born November 21, 1959) is a Brazilian retired mixed martial artist. He is a member of the Gracie family: the third oldest son of Hélio Gracie, brother to Rorion and Relson Gracie, and half-brother to Rolker, Royce, Robin ...
until he received his Brown Belt.
After Vieira left to join another gym,
Carlson Gracie became Pederneiras' coach and also offered him a position of instructors of the juniors at the gym.
In 1989, Pederneiras received his Black Belt from Gracie when he was 22 years old.
In 2018, Pederneiras became owner of the gym he originally trained and renamed it to Academia Upper.
During Pederneiras' BJJ career under the Carlson Gracie team, he was a six-time Brazilian National Champion.
In 2019, the
International Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Federation (IBJJF) promoted Pederneiras to 7th degree Coral (Red and Black) Belt.
Pederneiras' nickname is ''Dedé'' which is a friendly way of saying André, in Portuguese.
Mixed martial arts career
Pederneiras had a brief career in MMA that lasted from 1998 to 2000.
In 1998, Pederneiras had his debut fight at
Vale Tudo Japan
is an annual mixed martial arts competition held in Japan. Originally it was arranged by promoter and former professional wrestler Satoru Sayama; he had previously created a hybrid martial art organization named Shooto in 1985. He arranged VTJ in ...
where defeated
Rumina Sato
(, kanji for given name: 留美奈) is a Japanese retired mixed martial artist, famous for his career in the Shooto organization. In the past he fought mostly in the 155 lb division, but he moved down to the 145 lb division.
Mixed mar ...
in the first round via knockout.
In 1999, Pederneiras challenged
Pat Miletich
Patrick Jay Miletich (; born March 9, 1968) is a retired Americans, American mixed martial arts, mixed martial artist and former sports commentator. He is known for his fights in the Ultimate Fighting Championship, where he became the first UFC W ...
for
UFC Welterweight Title at
UFC 21
''UFC 21: Return of the Champions'' was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on July 16, 1999 at the Five Seasons Events Center in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. The event was seen live on pay per view in the United States, ...
where he lost in the second round via technical knockout.
In the same year, Pederneiras fought
Caol Uno
(born May 8, 1975) is a Japanese mixed martial arts, mixed martial artist and professional wrestler. He is the List of UFC champions#Tournament winners, Co-Champion of the List of UFC champions#Tournament winners, UFC 41 Lightweight Tournam ...
at Vale Tudo Japan where the match ended in a draw.
In 2000, Pederneiras fought
Genki Sudo
is a Japanese former mixed martial artist, singer, actor and politician. Between 1998 and 2006, Sudo was a professional athlete and then was in the entertainment industry from 2006 to 2019. He has since returned to his previous position in World ...
at C2K: Colosseum 2000 where the match ended in a draw again.
This was Pederneiras' last fight in his MMA career and he retired from MMA to become a full time coach.
Coaching career
After obtaining his Black Belt, Pederneiras established his own BJJ team called Dedé Pederneiras Jiu Jitsu.
Although is reached success quite fast, it was unable to compete with much larger team like
Gracie Barra and the Carlson Gracie Team that won most of the tournaments due to the number of athletes they could field.
Pederneiras met Wendell Alexander at a BJJ tournament.
Alexander was also had his own BJJ team called Mello Tenis Clube and like Pederneiras, had trouble competing with much larger teams.
In 1995, the two of them eventually joined forces to create the gym,
Nova União which translates to New Union.
Nova União would become one of the leading teams in BJJ where it would win many medals in tournaments such as the
World Jiu-Jitsu Championship
The World IBJJF Jiu-Jitsu Championship is a Brazilian jiu-jitsu tournament held annually by the International Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Federation. It is widely considered the most important and prestigious jiu-jitsu tournament of the year.
The ...
s.
In the late 1990s, Pederneiras became one of the first Brazilians to open the doors of his gym to foreigners with the most famous initial ones being
B.J. Penn and John Lewis.
This attracted controversy and his old master, Carlson called him a
Creonte (meaning traitor) although anti foreign sentiment eventually faded away as time passed.
Penn earned his Black Belt under Pederneiras in 2000 in just three years and then a few months later he became champion at the Black Belt level in the featherweight division of the World Jiu-Jitsu Championships.
He was the first American to achieve this feat.
In 2002, Pederneiras decided to pull Nova União out of all tournaments organized by the IBJJF.
This was due to opposition of IBJJF's policy of not paying their competitors.
Pederneiras created the Olympic Brazilian Jiu Jitsu Federation (CBJJO) which would create its own tournaments such as the
Copa Del Mundo.
Eventually after several years of disputes, Pederneiras allowed Nova União to return to IBJJF tournaments and CBJJO was dissolved.
CBJJO would be re-instituted later under new management
and IBJJF tournaments are now offering cash rewards.
Later on, Pederneiras decided make Nova União branch out more into MMA because he saw it as a viable way for many of its gym members who had poor backgrounds to earn a living.
Pederneiras himself was previously an MMA fighter from 1998 to 2000.
Pederneiras through his connections became President of Shooto Brasil, the Brazilian branch of
Shooto
is a combat sport and mixed martial arts organization that is governed by the Shooto Association and the International Shooto Commission (ISC). Shooto was originally formed in 1985, first as a particular fighting system and then in 1989 as a ...
, a Japanese MMA promotion.
Pederneiras has organized many MMA events in Brazil as a way of providing its gym members as well as many other fighters a way of earning a living. Since then Pederneiras had focused mostly on the MMA part of the team and has left the BJJ part to Alexander and other trainers.
In 2017, Pederneiras attracted some attention when he urged Brazilian fighters to move to the
United States
The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
as it offered better opportunities for training and development.
In 2018, Pederneiras stepped down from his duties as leader and head trainer of Nova União to focus on building another gym called Academia Upper.
This was the gym he originally trained at.
Pederneiras has spent a lot of time helping the local community, many of whom at underprivileged.
Pederneiras has allowed the underprivileged to train and live at Nova União at no cost provided they help out at the gym.
The most notable example of these students is
José Aldo
José Aldo da Silva Oliveira Júnior (; born 9 September 1986), known as José Aldo, is a Brazilian former professional mixed martial artist and professional boxer who competed in the Bantamweight and Featherweight divisions of the Ultimate F ...
.
Aldo grew up poor with little money but was allowed to train and live at Nova União provided he helped out at the gym. Eventually Aldo became the
UFC Featherweight Champion
Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) champions are fighters who have won UFC championships.
Historical notes
At the time of the UFC's inception in 1993, mixed martial arts was not sanctioned in the United States, and did not include weight clas ...
with the highest number of title defenses at seven and is considered by
Sherdog
Sherdog is an American website devoted to the sport of mixed martial arts (MMA). It also has many forums and discussion pages on the many topics of MMA like records, promotions, etc. The site is a member of the CraveOnline network and provides MM ...
to be the greatest MMA featherweight fighter in history. As of 2021, Pederneiras still remains as Aldo's coach.
Instructor lineage
Kano Jigoro
Kano may refer to:
Places
*Kano State, a state in Northern Nigeria
*Kano (city), a city in Nigeria, and the capital of Kano State
** Kingdom of Kano, a Hausa kingdom between the 10th and 14th centuries
**Sultanate of Kano, a Hausa kingdom between ...
→
Tomita Tsunejiro →
Mitsuyo Maeda
naturalized as Otávio Maeda (),Virgílio, p. 9 was a Japanese people, Japanese-born judo, ''judōka'' and prizefighter in no holds barred competitions. He was known as Count Combat or ''Conde Koma'' in Spanish and Portuguese, a nickname he pi ...
→
Carlos Gracie
Carlos Gracie (September 14, 1902October 7, 1994) was a Brazilian martial artist who is credited with being one of the primary developers of Brazilian jiu-jitsu. Along with his younger brother Hélio Gracie and fellow students Luis França a ...
→
Carlson Gracie → André Pederneiras
Notable students
Fighters
*
José Aldo
José Aldo da Silva Oliveira Júnior (; born 9 September 1986), known as José Aldo, is a Brazilian former professional mixed martial artist and professional boxer who competed in the Bantamweight and Featherweight divisions of the Ultimate F ...
– Former two-time
UFC Featherweight Champion
Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) champions are fighters who have won UFC championships.
Historical notes
At the time of the UFC's inception in 1993, mixed martial arts was not sanctioned in the United States, and did not include weight clas ...
, Former
List of World Extreme Cagefighting champions#Featherweight Championship
*
B.J. Penn – Former
UFC Lightweight Champion
Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) champions are fighters who have won UFC championships.
Historical notes
At the time of the UFC's inception in 1993, mixed martial arts was not sanctioned in the United States, and did not include weight class ...
, Former
UFC Welterweight Champion
Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) champions are fighters who have won UFC championships.
Historical notes
At the time of the UFC's inception in 1993, mixed martial arts was not sanctioned in the United States, and did not include weight class ...
,
IBJJF World Champion (Black Belt)
*
Renan Barão
Renan do Nascimento Mota Pegado (born 31 January 1987), known as Renan Barão, is a Brazilian professional mixed martial artist and a former UFC Bantamweight Champion. According to Fight Matrix, Barão holds the third longest unbeaten streak i ...
– Former
UFC Bantamweight Champion
*
Junior dos Santos
Junior dos Santos (; born 30 January 1984) is a Brazilian mixed martial artist and former professional wrestler who competes in the Heavyweight division. He is a former UFC Heavyweight Champion and current Gamebred Bareknuckle MMA Heavyweigh ...
– Former
UFC Heavyweight Champion
*
Cláudia Gadelha
Ana Cláudia Dantas Gadelha (; born December 7, 1988) is a Brazilian former professional mixed martial artist who competed in the Strawweight (MMA), Women's Strawweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC).
As of 2022, Gadelha ...
– Former UFC Women's Strawweight title challenger
*
Leonardo Santos –
TUF Brazil 2 winner, 4x
CBJJO World Jiu-Jitsu Cup Champion,
ADCC Bronze Medalist
*
Eduardo Dantas – Former two-time
Bellator Bantamweight Champion
*
Marcos Galvão
Marcos Galvão (born 23 June 1982) is a Brazilian professional mixed martial artist currently competing in the Featherweight division of the Professional Fighters League. A professional competitor since 2003, Galvão peaked at a global ranking ...
– Former
Bellator Bantamweight Champion
Grapplers
*
Robson Moura – 5x
IBJJF World Champion (Black Belt)
*
Vítor Ribeiro
Vítor de Souza Ribeiro (born February 24, 1979) is a retired professional mixed martial artist who competed in the Lightweight division. A professional competitor since 2001, he has formerly competed for Strikeforce, Sho ...
– 3x
IBJJF World Champion (Black Belt), ADCC Bronze Medalist
*
João Roque
João Manuel Roque (born July 22, 1971) is a Portuguese-Angolan former featherweight Brazilian Jiu Jitsu (BJJ) black belt World Champion and a retired mixed martial artist. He competed in the Featherweight division in MMA (Mixed Ma ...
–
IBJJF World Champion (Black Belt)
Awards and achievements
* 7th degree Coral (Red and Black) Belt in
Brazilian jiu-jitsu
* PVT Magazine (Portal do Vale Tudo) – MMA Coach of the Year 2010
* 6x Brazilian National Champion in
Brazilian jiu-jitsu
* Vale Tudo Japan Champion (1998)
Mixed martial arts record
, -
, Draw
, align=center, 1–1–2
,
Genki Sudo
is a Japanese former mixed martial artist, singer, actor and politician. Between 1998 and 2006, Sudo was a professional athlete and then was in the entertainment industry from 2006 to 2019. He has since returned to his previous position in World ...
, Draw
, C2K – Colosseum 2000
,
, align=center, 1
, align=center, 15:00
, Japan
,
, -
, Draw
, align=center, 1–1–1
,
Caol Uno
(born May 8, 1975) is a Japanese mixed martial arts, mixed martial artist and professional wrestler. He is the List of UFC champions#Tournament winners, Co-Champion of the List of UFC champions#Tournament winners, UFC 41 Lightweight Tournam ...
, Draw
, VTJ 1999 – Vale Tudo Japan 1999
,
, align=center, 3
, align=center, 8:00
,
Tokyo
Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan, capital and List of cities in Japan, most populous city in Japan. With a population of over 14 million in the city proper in 2023, it is List of largest cities, one of the most ...
, Japan
,
, -
, Loss
, align=center, 1–1
,
Pat Miletich
Patrick Jay Miletich (; born March 9, 1968) is a retired Americans, American mixed martial arts, mixed martial artist and former sports commentator. He is known for his fights in the Ultimate Fighting Championship, where he became the first UFC W ...
, TKO (doctor stoppage)
,
UFC 21
''UFC 21: Return of the Champions'' was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on July 16, 1999 at the Five Seasons Events Center in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. The event was seen live on pay per view in the United States, ...
,
, align=center, 2
, align=center, 2:20
,
Iowa
Iowa ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the upper Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west; Wisconsin to the northeast, Ill ...
, United States
,
, -
, Win
, align=center, 1–0
,
Rumina Sato
(, kanji for given name: 留美奈) is a Japanese retired mixed martial artist, famous for his career in the Shooto organization. In the past he fought mostly in the 155 lb division, but he moved down to the 145 lb division.
Mixed mar ...
, KO (soccer kick and punches)
, VTJ 1998 – Vale Tudo Japan 1998
,
, align=center, 1
, align=center, 4:09
,
Tokyo
Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan, capital and List of cities in Japan, most populous city in Japan. With a population of over 14 million in the city proper in 2023, it is List of largest cities, one of the most ...
, Japan
,
, -
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pederneiras, Andre
1967 births
Living people
Brazilian male mixed martial artists
Brazilian practitioners of Brazilian jiu-jitsu
Welterweight mixed martial artists
Mixed martial artists utilizing Brazilian jiu-jitsu
Mixed martial artists utilizing judo
Ultimate Fighting Championship male fighters
Sportspeople from Rio de Janeiro (city)
People awarded a coral belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu
20th-century Brazilian sportsmen