Andre Pederneiras has faced many challenges inside the cage as a fighter and cageside as a coach.
In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, Pederneiras now faces a different sort of challenge. A lengthy Instagram post from the legendary Nova Uniao coach posted Monday announced he’s self-isolating after a positive test for the novel coronavirus currently wreaking havoc on the globe. He initially revealed the news in an interview with Combate.
The post from Pederneiras reads (translation via Google Translate):
“Good morning everyone!
“I took the Covid-19 test and it was positive. I am well, fulfilling my isolation at home, and my biggest concern at this moment is to continue our fundraising campaign, because the hunger of the less fortunate cannot fail to be quenched due to a MOMENTARY low medical in the middle of this war that we are fighting, to feed the less fortunate.
“Regardless of whether I am unable to go to the street, our army of ATHLETES AND COLLABORATORS will continue to distribute the basic food baskets at the scheduled times – and as soon as I am free, I will be back in front of everything, buying and distributing the food TOGETHER WE WIN THIS WAR.
“Every week I go to the bank to get the statement to account for the campaign. Unfortunately, this week I will have to post the cell phone statement (which I don’t like to do because it doesn’t show the name of André Pederneiras Institute and the value together), but as soon as I’m released to leave, I’ll post the statement the way it came making.
“The motto of my life has always been FIGHTING TO WIN, and it will be no different now!! My thanks to everyone who is donating and helping these people in need in some way.”
Pederneiras, 53, is perhaps most well-known for his perennial presence in the corner of former UFC featherweight champion Jose Aldo and former UFC bantamweight champion Renan Barao. Throughout his career, Pederneiras has coached dozens of other MMA notables including B.J. Penn, Junior dos Santos, Claudia Gadelha, Gray Maynard, and Eduardo Dantas.
