André Pederneiras

Carlos André Pederneiras de Castro was born on 22 March 1967, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. 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 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 where defeated Rumina Sato in the first round via knockout. In 1999, Pederneiras challenged Pat Miletich for UFC Welterweight Title at UFC 21 where he lost in the second round via technical knockout. In the same year, Pederneiras fought Caol Uno at Vale Tudo Japan where the match ended in a draw. In 2000, Pederneiras fought Genki Sudo 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. 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 Championships. He was the first American to achieve this feat. 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. 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. As of 2021, Pederneiras still remains as Aldo's coach. == Instructor lineage ==

Kano Jigoro → Tomita Tsunejiro → Mitsuyo Maeda → Carlos Gracie → Carlson Gracie → André Pederneiras == Notable students ==

Fighters • José Aldo – Former two-time UFC Featherweight Champion, Former List of World Extreme Cagefighting champions#Featherweight Championship • Cláudia Gadelha – Former UFC Women's Strawweight title challenger • Eduardo Dantas – Former two-time Bellator Bantamweight Champion • Marcos Galvão – Former Bellator Bantamweight Champion Grapplers • Robson Moura – 5x IBJJF World Champion (Black Belt) • Vítor Ribeiro – 3x IBJJF World Champion (Black Belt), ADCC Bronze Medalist • João Roque – 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 ==