A Day with Nova União

From Sherdog.com by Marcelo Alonso (malonso@sherdog.com)

Sherdog.com observed a training session last week at Nova União, the Brazilian team known for having the biggest collection of talented lighter weight fighters in the world.

Even without the presence of top-ranked fighters like Vitor “Shaolin” Ribeiro, Leonardo Santos, Renan Barão and Wagnney Fabiano, the sparring session featured an incredible room of talent, including WEC champion Jose Aldo, Pancrase champion Marlon Sandro, Shooto national champion Eduardo Dantas, Thales Leites, Ronnys Torres, Johnny Eduardo, Hacran Dias, Luis “Beição” Ramos, Hernani Perpetuo, Amilcar Alves and so many other new and quality fighters.

Coach Andre Pederneiras also recently invited UFC welterweight Paulo Thiago to train with the team.

“It’s very hard to imagine so many top guys in the same place,” Thiago said. “It was a great opportunity for me. The training here is unbelievable.”

After two hours of hard sparring, the class Sherdog.com observed ended with a friendly “vale tudo bout” between “lightweights” (under 170 pounds) and “heavyweights” (more than 170). The lightweights — there were 14 of them — spanked the heavyweights, who were led by Thales Leites but only had five members total.

“I can’t believe how those guys still have energy to play like that after two hours of training,” said Pederneiras, whose team has won 84 percent of their fights this year.

“Here at Nova União, the lightweights are the ones who have the last word,” Jose Aldo declared. “Everyday we beat the big guys to remind them about that.”