Andre Pederneiras confirmed a split between Nova Uniao and Kimura, two Brazilian-based MMA teams who have worked together for 20 years.
“There’s a restructuring in Nova Uniao today that doesn’t involve only the competition part,” Pederneiras told reporters at Nova Uniao’s new training center. “Some rules were created and some teams, not only Kimura, couldn’t fit in those rules. It’s not that they are wrong and we’re right, but when you set a goal to grow and organize, my way of thinking won’t always be like yours, but that doesn’t mean we’re no longer friends.”
Nova Uniao is the home of former UFC champion Jose Aldo along with the likes of Junior dos Santos and several others. Kimura, meanwhile, boasted Renan Barao, Claudia Gadelha and more, though Barao has always represented both and Gadelha have since moved to Nova Uniao strictly.
“We won’t forget an history that was created for more than 20 years,” Pederneiras said. “I think both Nova Uniao and Kimura, and the other teams, brought us great athletes, and we brought them knowledge so we could walk side by side towards our final goal of building champions.”
