Nova Uniao boss talks 'dream,' Jose Aldo to lightweight

• Andre Pederneiras is a founder of the legendary Nova Uniao gym
• Jose Aldo is the top fighter for the Brazilian team
• Pederneiras is one of the nominees for coach of the year

With voting in the 2012 World MMA Awards closing at the end of this month, onetime UFC veteran Andre Pederneiras has the opportunity to be one of the evening's big winners.He's up for the Shawn Tompkins Coach of the Year award, and his gym, Nova Uniao, is also a finalist for Gym of the Year. Add in UFC interim bantamweight champion Renan Barao's nomination for "Breakthrough Fighter of the Year," and it could be a special night, indeed.

"I have been working for a long time," Pederneiras told USA TODAY Sports. "I've been doing this job for 20 years, more or less, and now I have an opportunity to show how good the skills of my students are with this show."

Pederneiras does boast four bouts of professional MMA experience after tangling with MMA legends Pat Miletich, Rumina Sato, Genki Sudo and Caol Uno. But the 45-year-old is best known as a Carlson Gracie black belt and one of the two founders of the legendary Nova Uniao team, home to Barao, UFC featherweight champion Jose Aldo and Bellator bantamweight champion Eduardo Dantas, among many others.

Established primarily as a jiu-jitsu academy, Pederneiras said there are now more than 100 locations worldwide with some 10,000 students training under the banner. Pederneiras said more than 100 students per year transition into MMA, with the primary goal to join the flagship gym in Rio de Janeiro, Upper Sports Club, where some 60 fighters – including the three champions previously mentioned, as well as notables Hacran Dias, Wagnney Fabiano, Jussier Formiga, Caio Magalhaes, Ronny Markes, Leo Santos, Ronys Torres and others.

The World MMA Awards nominations are a first for both Pederneiras and Nova Uniao, and he's hoping his fighters' accomplishments are enough to give his team the nod over other notable gyms such as American Kickboxing Academy, Cesar Gracie Jiu-Jitsu, Kings MMA and 2009 World MMA Awards winner Jackson-Winkeljohn MMA.

"I think my gym is a great gym," Pederneiras said. "I like so much Jackson's gym, too. I think they both have great fighters. … But I think today, in this year, Nova Uniao made a little bit more than Jackson's MMA. We have many great fighters here: Aldo, Dantes, Barao, Markes. I have some great fighters here and some upcoming guys that I think in one or two years can compete and one day be a champion. But as I said, I've done this a long time, and know I have some great fighters in my gym."

The crown jewel of the camp right now is unquestionably Aldo, who is considered one of the top pound-for-pound fighters in the sport and currently boasts an impressive 14-fight win streak. Just 26 years old, Aldo fights again in February, when he takes on former UFC lightweight champion Frankie Edgar in the main event of UFC 156 in Las Vegas. It will be Aldo's first fight in nearly 13 months after injury forced him to the sidelines for much of 2012. During that time, Aldo has continued to grow, and while he'll look for a fourth defense of his 145-pound title in the bout with Edgar, Pederneiras said his fighter is intent on a move to 155 pounds.

"Every fight, he wants to fight at 155 pounds," Pederneiras said with a laugh. "'I don't want to cut any more weight.' Every day I listen to him about that."

At 5-foot-7, Aldo certainly wouldn't be one of the division's tallest fighters, but his coach believes he can compete in the weight class. Still, he thinks the move is still about one year away.

"I think for him it's better to wait a little bit because he's putting on mass every year," Pederneiras said. "He doesn't need to put so much mass that he can't move the same. He's gaining weight because he's so young. I don't want to put pressure on him to gain weight. I prefer to wait maybe one more year."

Another of the gym's rising stars is Barao, the 25-year-old with the incredible 29-fight unbeaten streak who this past July defeated Urijah Faber to win the UFC's interim bantamweight belt.

"He is a beast," Pederneiras said. "Now he has a chance to show his skills and to fight for the title."

Barao had hoped his next fight would be to unify the title with injured bantamweight champ Dominick Cruz. However, complications with Cruz's recovery from knee surgery forced Barao to instead take a fight with dangerous knockout artist Michael McDonald at February's UFC on FUEL TV 7 event in London.

Pederneiras said Cruz's lingering difficulties and uncertain return date made the decision to remain active an easy one.

"He needs to fight," Pederneiras said of Barao. "He's so young. He can't wait for Dominick for such a long time. I think for sure he needs to fight."

And so 2013 will get off to a busy start for the Brazilian resident, who said his team had more than 150 fights that forced he and his coaches to each make between 20 and 30 trips outside of their native country.

But first, it's the World MMA Awards on Jan. 11 in Las Vegas. Pederneiras has his fingers crossed.

"It's a dream come true because I've trained my fighters a long time," Pederneiras said. "Now I have an opportunity to see my name beside those guys. For me, it is a big honor – a very big honor."

Voting for the 2012 World MMA Awards is underway at www.worldmmaawards.com. It recognizes achievements from Sept. 1, 2011, to Sept. 30, 2012. MMAjunkie.com earned a nomination in the Media Source of the Year category. Additionally, staff writers John Morgan and Ben Fowlkes are nominees in the MMA Journalist of the Year division.

Morgan writes for MMAJunkie.com