André Pederneiras
Brazilian mixed martial arts fighter and jiu-jitsu practitioner
アンドレ・ペデネイラス
- Born
- 22 March 1967
- Citizenship
- Brazil
- Sport
- mixed martial arts
- Occupation
- mixed martial arts fighter
- Team / club
- Nova União
Carlos André Pederneiras de Castro (born 22 March 1967) is a Brazilian jiu-jitsu (BJJ) and mixed martial arts (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 for the UFC Welterweight Championship in 1999, and fought at the Shooto-run Vale Tudo Japan 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, B.J. Penn and Renan Barão who all became UFC champions. Pederneiras is also the President of Shooto Brasil, the Brazilian branch of Japanese MMA promotion Shooto.
External links
Facts from Wikidata Q111020351 (CC0); quoted introduction from English Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Data retrieved 2026-10-22.
Data: Wikidata (CC0 1.0); Wikipedia (English) (CC BY-SA 4.0). Retrieved 2026-10-22.