Coach Andre Pederneiras tests positive for COVID-19

Nova Uniao founder and leader Andre Pederneiras tested positive for COVID-19, sources confirmed to MMA Fighting following a report by Combate.

Pederneiras, coach of MMA stars like former UFC featherweight champion Jose Aldo and former Bellator titleholder Eduardo Dantas, is isolated in a room in his house in Rio de Janeiro to make sure he doesn’t infect his wife and kids. According to one source, Pederneiras is asymptomatic.

Pederneiras told Combate he “felt chills for two nights in a row” two weeks ago, but it was no big deal. One of his sons woke up with a swollen eye one day and the other had diarrhea, so he decided to get himself tested to make sure he wasn’t infected by the virus.

“The IgM was positive and the IgG was negative, that is, I have the virus but I don’t have immunity yet,” Pederneiras said to Combate. “The same day I started self-quarantining in my room, separating myself from my family at home.”

Pederneiras closed the doors of his gyms in Rio de Janeiro as soon as the local government issue the order months ago, but has left his house several times over the past few weeks to donate food.

Rio de Janeiro recorded almost 4,000 deaths caused by the coronavirus infection and more than 38,000 confirmed cases of the disease as of Sunday. Brazil has surpassed the mark of 365,000 confirmed cases and almost 23,000 deaths. According to the World Health Organization, South America has become the new epicenter of the pandemic with Brazil being the “most affected” country.