DSE has put together what has to be one of the greatest cards in history. Pride starts two tournaments that'll have two lightweights and two welterweights move on to New Year’s Eve to fight for the Pride Lightweight and Pride Welterweight championship titles.

Lightweight GP Bout: Takanori Gomi vs. Tatsuya Kawajiri
Pride Bushido lightweight ace Takanori Gomi takes on Shooto welterweight champion Tatsuya Kawajiri. Takanori Gomi has a 20-2 record in MMA and hails from the Kiguchi Dojo with Yusuke Endo. Tatsuya Kawajiri has a 15-2-2 record in MMA and fights out of Team Tops with Mitsuhiro Ishida.

Gomi is coming off a dominating victory over Chute Boxe lightweight Jean Silva at Pride Bushido 8. Gomi dominated the entire fight as Silva was not at Gomi’s level, but he did show tremendous heart. He survived Gomi’s entire onslaught, and refused tapping to Gomi’s armbar at the end of the fight. Since losing to BJ Penn back at ROTR 4, Gomi has gone undefeated in Pride; easily defeating Jadson Costa, Ralph Gracie, and Fabio Mello. However, he had to work a little harder to beat Charles “Krazy Horse” Bennett, Jens Pulver, Luiz Azeredo, and Jean Silva.

Kawajiri just had an impressive victory over Brazilian Top Team lightweight Luis Buscape at Pride Bushido 8. He had trouble early on and got off to a slow start in the first round where Buscape was able to control him. However, Kawajiri found his rhythm in the second by grounding and pounding Buscape, almost finishing him with foot stomps at the end of the fight. Kawajiri is the Shooto welterweight champion and is considered the number one lightweight in the world. He obtained such claim by beating: Yves Edwards, Ryan Bow, Vitor ‘Shaolin” Ribeiro, Jani Lax, Kim In Seok, and Luis Buscape. The only blemish on his record is a draw with Caol Uno, which, in my opinion, is a fight Kawajiri clearly won.

Both fighters are arguably the top two lightweights in the world. The winner gets to be the top lightweight for the time being. Each fighter has dominated the Shooto welterweight division at one point in his career. The winner of this one might have some difficulty in their next fight of the night, because I expect the two fighters to bring everything into his fight.

DSE is putting their biggest fight the first round. It’s either a brilliant or stupid move. They should be able to sell out the arena and draw decent attention from media by it, but it’s at the risk of neither fighter making it to the final. That’d kill the chances of a Japanese champion. That said, Kawajiri should be able to beat Gomi in what should be a hell of a fight. Kawajiri has fought better competition than Gomi did in the last two years. I think that'll pay off. Gomi has a slight edge in striking, but Kawajiri is a better ground fighter and should be able to take it to the ground at will. From there, I think Kawajiri will ground and pound Gomi en route to a decision.

Prediction: Tatsuya Kawajiri by decision.

Lightweight GP Bout: Naoyuki Kotani vs. Luiz Azeredo
ZST lightweight fighter Naoyuki Kotani takes on Chute Boxe’s lightweight star Luiz Azeredo. Naoyuki Kotani has a 14-4-3 record in MMA and trains out of Rodeo Style with Hiroki Nagaoka. Luiz Azeredo has a 9-4 record in MMA and represents Chute Boxe Academy with Wanderlei Silva.

Kotani is making his Pride debut. He's coming off a disappointing draw with Darius Skilaudys at the ZST GP2- Final Round. That was eight months back, and he hasn't been in a ring since then. His absence could either be a good thing or a bad thing. It’s good if he has used this time to reflect on the past two years because they haven’t really gone his way. He’s gone 2-4-1 in this span with two of those losses coming in America by the way of strikes from the hands of Yves Edwards and Roger Huerta. His last win was a year ago in ZST when he submitted HEROS star Hideo Tokoro with a heel hook in the first round. Since then, it’s been all down hill for Kotani. And now, he's entering what has to be the biggest lightweight tournament ever put together.

Azeredo is coming off an impressive performance. Azeredo gave Takanori Gomi a hell of a fight back at Pride Bushido 7. He was winning the fight and even stunning Gomi until he was brutally knocked out by Gomi. Azeredo jumped into the spotlight after his classic fight with Luis Buscape at Pride Bushido 6. Both men put on an excellent display of grappling with Azeredo going for various submissions to a close split decision victory. He's looking to prove that he's the real deal.

Here, whichever fighter comes out the winner will have a tough fight ahead as they must face the winner of Gomi/Kawajiri. Kotani is in over his head as Azeredo is no slouch for a debut fight. Azeredo is just the better fighter on the feet and both fighters are about even on the ground, so I don’t see Kotani catching Azeredo with a submission. This one’s fireworks from the beginning and don’t expect it to last very long., expect Azeredo to keep it standing and finish Kotani early in the first round.

Prediction: Luiz Azeredo by TKO in the first round.

Lightweight GP Bout: Hayato “Mach” Sakurai vs. Jens Pulver
Shooto legend Hayato “Mach” Sakurai takes on former UFC Lightweight Champion Jens Pulver. Hayato “Mach” Sakurai has a 25-6-2 record in MMA and fights out of AMC Pankration with Matt Hume. Jens Pulver has a 19-5-1 record in MMA and trains at Team Miletich with Matt Hughes.

Sakurai is coming off a disappointing win over ground prodigy Shinya Aoki at the Shooto 8/20 Show. Sakurai was content to grapple with Aoki for most of the fight as both fighters traded positions on the ground. Aoki looked to have out positioned Sakurai on the ground but in the end the judges gave Sakurai the victory in what was a close fight. Sakurai got back on the winning track by beating BTT lightweight Milton Vieira by decision at Pride Bushido 7. Sakurai is moving down in weight and expect him to be at his best against Pulver.

Pulver debuted in Pride against Takanori Gomi, in what was an excellent display of striking. Pulver showed good striking skills and was holding his own until Gomi knocked him out with a nice combination. Pulver recently scored an impressive knockout win over BJJ fighter TAISHO at Pride Bushido 7. The stoppage might have been a bit premature, but the outcome of the fight was never in any doubt.

In summary, we have two fighters trying to reclaim the past glory they once had; Sakurai being the former Shooto Middleweight Champion, and Pulver the former UFC Lightweight Champion. Sakurai is moving down to his original weight of lightweight after competing, the majority of his career outside of that division. Pulver has resurrected his career after getting knocked out in consecutive fights back in 2003. This fight should be a high-paced affair with both fighters giving it everything. This could be a close fight but I’m going with Sakurai on this one. I'm saying that because Pulver has turned out just a pure striker instead of the complete fighter that he once was or still might be. He simply seems to rely too much on his striking instead of using all of his tools. Sakurai should be able to take Pulver down and work the ground and pound to a decision victory.

Prediction: Hayato “Mach” Sakurai by decision.

Lightweight GP Bout: Joachim Hansen vs. Yves Edwards
Former Shooto Welterweight Champion Joachim Hansen takes on the uncrowned UFC Lightweight Champion Yves Edwards. Joachim Hansen has a 12-2-1 record in MMA and trains out of Team Scandinavian with Jani Lax. Yves Edwards has a 28-8-1 record in MMA and trains out of Thugjitsu with Carlo Prater.

Hansen is coming off an exciting win over up and coming, Shooto fighter Kenichiro Togashi at the Shooto 8/20 Show. He won a decision in a striking war. Hansen was able to land the harder and cleaner shots on their feet and ground. Hansen made his Pride debut at Pride Bushido 8 by knocking out unorthodox grappler Masakazu Imanari with a vicious knee in the first round. Earlier in the year, Hansen fought (in what has to be the fight of the year so far) against Caol Uno in HEROS, where he was able to finish off the former Shooto Welterweight Champion with a flying knee with just seconds left in the fight.

Edwards made his Pride debut at Pride Bushido 7. He scored a surprising submission win via armbar over crowd favorite Dokonjonosuke Mishima. Earlier this year, Edwards once again defeated Hermes Franca by split decision in another close fight at the Euphoria MFC 3 show.

This one could end up being the fight of the night just by the way that the two fighters match-up stylistically. These two fighters were actually scheduled to meet earlier this year at the Euphoria MFC 3 show but Hansen was forced to pull out because of a hand injury. Both fighters are top five lightweights in the world and one will be closer to staking his claim to being the best lightweight after this fight. Now both fighters will finally meet on a bigger stage and it should be a fight that will be remembered for years to come. However, Hansen is the stronger of the two and has more experience in fighting at the big events than Edwards. Once this one goes to the ground, expect Hansen to begin his relentless ground and pound assault on Edwards and finish the fight.

Prediction: Joachim Hansen by TKO in the first round.

Lightweight GP Reserve Bout: Dokonjonosuke Mishima vs. Charles “Krazy Horse” Bennett
In the Pride Bushido Lightweight GP reserve match, DEEP Lightweight Champion Dokonjonosuke Mishima takes on KOTC lightweight Charles “Krazy Horse” Bennett. Dokonjonosuke Mishima has a 16-4-2 record in MMA and trains out of Cobra Kai with Daisuke Hanazawa. Charles “Krazy Horse” Bennett has a 13-8-2 record in MMA and trains with Thomas “Wildman” Denny.

Mishima is coming off a surprising loss to Yves Edwards at Pride Bushido 7. Mishima was doing great in the fight until Edwards surprised him with a beautiful armbar that forced him to tap midway through the first round. Mishima won the DEEP Lightweight Championship at DEEP 18, when he easily dominated Pride veteran TAISHO en route to a decision victory. In Mishima’s only win in Pride back at Pride Bushido 4, he outworked and pounded out a split decision win over Marcus Aurelio in what was the fight of the night. Mishima hasn’t finished an opponent in two years since he beat Masakazu Imanari by TKO back at DEEP 11.

Bennett is coming off a disappointing loss to John Gunderson at Gladiator Challenge 40. A week before that he drew with Joe Boxer at KOTC: Prime Time, in a fight that he easily should have lost if it wasn’t for a bullshit judge’s decision that screwed over the debuting Boxer. He won an unimpressive fight over Gabe Rivas at KOTC: Arizona, when Rivas was unable to continue due to injury.

Both fighters will be looking to prove that they deserved to be in the Pride Bushido Lightweight GP instead of being the reserve match. Mishima has stated after his loss to Edwards back at Pride Bushido 7, he would need to adjust his style in order to compete at the higher level in Pride. Bennett has kept himself busy with a weird streak of fights in smaller shows like King of the Cage and Gladiator Challenge since his knockout win over Yoshiro Maeda at Pride Bushido 7. This one shouldn’t last that long as both fighters are going to put it all on the line in this fight.  Mishima should be able to get the finish over Bennett in this one. Bennett has shown in the past that he has some horrible submission defense and Mishima should take full advantage of that. Mishima will get it to the ground early and end it with a submission.

Prediction: Dokonjonosuke Mishima by submission in the first round.

Lightweight GP Semifinal Bout: Tatsuya Kawajiri vs. Luiz Azeredo
Kawajiri should have had the harder fight of the two fighters in the previous round, so Azeredo would have the advantage of being the fresher man coming into the fight. I don’t really expect Kotani to give him any more trouble then what Gomi should give to Kawajiri. Kawajiri has never faced a fighter like Azeredo in the past; Azeredo is an excellent ground fighter and a dangerous striker. Kawajiri is the better wrestler of the two, so he better try and take this one to the ground early. Azeredo has a very active guard as seen in his fight with Buscape at Pride Bushido 6, so Kawajiri has to be careful when tries to land his ground and pound on Azeredo. Both fighters should be going at full speed as a spot in the finals is on the line in this fight. Kawajiri should be able to ground and pound Azeredo to a decision, but don’t be surprised if Azeredo catches Kawajiri in a submission.

Prediction: Tatsuya Kawajiri by decision.

Lightweight GP Semifinal Bout: Hayato “Mach” Sakurai vs. Joachim Hansen
Sakurai should have the clear advantage on the ground in this fight but Hansen is a master in getting out of submissions as seen in his fights in Shooto. Hansen has yet to lose to Japanese fighter since he started to fight in Japan back in 2002 but he’s going to have his hands full with Sakurai. Sakurai is hard to finish as only two people were able to do so but both of them were bigger then Sakurai at the time of those fights. Hansen has some vicious ground and pound, and if Sakurai isn’t careful he could fall prey to Hansen’s relentless attack on the ground and on their feet. This one is a tough one to pick but I’m going with Hansen on this one as I think he can ground and pound Sakurai en route to a decision and avoid getting caught in any submission that Sakurai throws at him.

Prediction: Joachim Hansen by decision.

Welterweight GP Reserve Bout: Ryuta Sakurai vs. Paulo Filho
DEEP Middleweight Champion Ryuta Sakurai takes on Brazilian Top Team fighter Paulo Filho. Ryuta Sakurai has 12-9-4 record in MMA and trains out of the R-Gym with Ryuhei Sato. Paulo Filho has a 9-0 record in MMA and trains out of the Brazilian Top Team with Ricardo Arona.

Sakurai is coming off an impressive win over Pride veteran Yasuhito Namekawa at DEEP 19, in the first defense of his DEEP Middleweight Championship. Sakurai was able to control the fight early and was able to submit Namekawa with an armbar late in the first round. He showed tremendous heart against Murilo Bustamante at Pride Bushido 6, and Sakurai impressed many by being able to control the first round and slightly edging Bustamante in the round. In the second round, a fresher Bustamante took over and punished Sakurai on their feet landing numerous clean shots on Sakurai. Sakurai showed tremendous heart by surviving the round but he eventually lost the decision in a fight that he could have won but was unable to finish strong.

Filho is coming off a submission win over Red Devil fighter Amar Suloev at Pride Bushido 6. He easily beat Suloev. Once the fight hit the ground, it was all Filho as he easily passed into side mount and submitted Suloev by armbar. Filho also won a boring decision over Akria Shoji at Pride Bushido 4 by being the busier fighter on their feet. Filho is an excellent fighter when he goes all out but he can become too cautious at times.

Both fighters are going to be looking to prove that they belong in the Pride Bushido Welterweight GP and not in the reserve match. Sakurai is finally starting to realize his full potential as fighter after a rocky start to his MMA career. Filho is undefeated and many believe that he should have been in the tournament instead of being in the reserve match. This one should be a ground war with the winner being the fighter who can control the stand-up. If Filho is at his best in this fight, he should have no problem beating Sakurai. Sakurai is a tough fighter, but Filho is simply at another level and I think he takes this one by submission.

Prediction: Paulo Filho by submission in the first round.

Welterweight GP Bout: Akihiro Gono vs. Daniel Acacio
Team Grabaka fighter Akihiro Gono takes on Chute Boxe welterweight terror Daniel Acacio. Akihiro Gono has a 22-10-7 record in MMA and trains out of Team Grabaka with Sanae Kikuta. Daniel Acacio has 9-1 record in MMA and trains out of the Chute Boxe Academy with Mauricio “Shogun” Rua.

Gono is coming off a nice win over Crosley Gracie at Pride Bushido 7. He was outstriking Gracie in the last round and took the decision. In fact, the last minute, Gono dominated Gracie with strikes and landed a devastating foot stomp to seal the fight in his favor. Gono knocked out up and coming light heavyweight Tim McKenzie with strikes at Pancrase: Brave 10. He also knocked out Pancrase journeyman Tsuyoshi Kurihara at Pancrase: Brave 6.

Acacio recently won an exciting decision over Kazuo Misaki at Pride Bushido 8. Both fighters came out throwing leather the entire fight. Acacio was able to land the harder and cleaner shots of the two on his way to the win. He made his impressive debut in Pride by destroying ground wizard Daiju Takase at Pride Bushido 6. Acacio was relentless with his attack and just ran threw Takase, finishing him off with foot stomps and soccer kicks. Acacio has gone undefeated in his last nine fights with his only loss being his MMA debut fight against fellow Chute Boxe teammate Nilson de Castro.

These fighters are primarily strikers. Gono is the former AJKF Heavyweight Champion, so he's an excellent, technical striker. Acacio is more of a wild and relentless striker, and the majority of Acacio’s wins have come by the way of strikes. This one is destined to be a striking war with the fighter that lands the first big shot getting the advantage in the fight. Gono is the more precise striker, but if Acacio can use the same strategy that Shogun used for Gono, it might be a long night for Gono. Still, I’m going with Gono in this one as I think he has learned from his fight with Shogun, and I think he’ll be able to outstrike Acacio in an exciting slugfest.

Prediction: Akihiro Gono by decision.

Welterweight GP Bout: Ryo Chonan vs. Dan Henderson
Pride Bushido Welterweight ace Ryo Chonan takes on Team Quest fighter Dan Henderson. Ryo Chonan has a 10-5 record in MMA and trains out of G-Square with Kazuhiro Nakamura. Dan Henderson has a 16-4 record in MMA and trains out of Team Quest with Matt Lindland.

Chonan is coming off a shocking knockout loss to Phil Baroni at Pride Bushido 8. It looked like he underestimated Baroni and was a bit cocky in the fight. He didn’t respect Baroni’s power and he paid for it as he was knocked out. Earlier, Chonan won a boring decision over Chute Boxe’s BJJ master Nino “Elvis” Schembri at Pride Bushido 7. Nino held on to Chonan for dear life most of the fight, and when Chonan had the chance, he was able to land some good ground and pound on Nino. Chonan scored a dramatic knockout over Roan Carneiro at DEEP 18 with a flying knee followed by a flurry of strikes.

Henderson is coming off a bad loss to Antonio Rogerio Nogueira at Pride Total Elimination 2005. Henderson looked good early but he gassed quickly and Nogueira took over from that point, eventually submitting Henderson with an armbar. Henderson won a disappointing decision over Yuki Kondo at Pride Shockwave 2004, in a fight that many thought he lost as Kondo was able to outwork Henderson for much of the fight with Henderson looking bad in the process.

Henderson hasn’t looked really good in his last couple of fights, so moving from middleweight to to his natural welterweight might help. Chonan, in spite of his shocking loss to Baroni, is still considered the top Japanese welterweight in Pride. He's already stated he won’t overlook another opponent like he did with Baroni, so expect him to be at his best. Both fighters need a win badly as neither can afford to lose two in a row at this point in their careers. This should be an exciting fight with both fighters matching up very evenly. If Chonan is at his best, he should be able to outwork Henderson to a decision because Chonan, in my mind, is the more rounded fighter of the two.

Prediction: Ryo Chonan by decision.

Welterweight GP Bout: Ikuhisa Minowa vs. Phil Baroni
Real pro-wrestler Ikuhisa Minowa takes on the “New York Badass” Phil Baroni. Ikuhisa Minowa has a 29-21-8 record in MMA and is a freelance fighter. Phil Baroni has an 8-5 record in MMA and trains out of the Hammer House with Mark Coleman.

Minowa is coming off an impressive win over UFC legend Kimo at Pride Bushido 8. He's won five out of his last six fights in Pride after starting off 0-3 in Pride. If this fight is anything like their first fight, expect it to be a crowd pleaser. Minowa showed excellent technique in his fight with Baroni until he gassed and resorted to striking with Baroni, which led to his demise. He was easily able to heel hook Dutch bad boy Gilbert Yvel at Pride Bushido 6, having no trouble with the dangerous striker.

Baroni is coming off an impressive knockout win over Ryo Chonan at Pride Bushido 8. This is a rematch of their Pride Bushido 7 bout, where Baroni was able to outlast Minowa and knock him out with foot stomps late in the fight. Baroni has now resurrected his career in Pride after having some tough luck in the UFC for the past two years.

Minowa was in the hospital not too long ago due to a bad headache suffered because of training, so that could come into play. Baroni is a better fighter after joining the Hammer House and seems to be serious about his MMA career now. If Minowa can’t take this one to the ground quickly, I expect Baroni to knock him out in quicker fashion than in their first fight.

Prediction: Phil Baroni by KO in the first round.

Welterweight GP Bout: Masanori Suda vs. Murilo Bustamante
Shooto Light Heavyweight Champion Masanori Suda takes on former UFC Middleweight Champion Murilo Bustamante. Masanori Suda has a 22-9-3 record in MMA and trains out of Club J with Daniel Lima. Murilo Bustamante has a 10-4-1 record in MMA and trains out of the Brazilian Top Team with Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira.

Suda is coming off a surprising knockout loss to Falaniko Vitale at Superbrawl 39. It's a fight he was winning until he was knocked out with a “running man” punch. Even the crowd was surprised at what they had just seen. Suda had submitted AKA fighter Brian Ebersole at the Shooto 1/29 show with a rear naked choke late in the fight. He also had a boring draw with Dustin Denes at Shooto: Soljah Fight Night in a defense of his Shooto Light Heavyweight Championship. Suda has been the Shooto Light Heavyweight Champion for several years now and has been known to fight in other promotions like DEEP and Superbrawl.

Bustamante is coming off an impressive win over Ryuta Sakurai at Pride Bushido 6. His first win in Pride after going 0-3, losing to all bigger fighters in the middleweight division. Bustamante took over in the second round of that fight by dominating the stand-up and punishing Sakurai with strikes to a decision win.

This one could end up being an exciting ground fight that should please all the grappling fans. Both are great ground fighters but I have to give the overall edge to Bustamante because he is the better striker of the two. Bustamante should be able to use his superior striking to his advantage and win a decision over Suda.

Prediction: Murilo Bustamante by decision.

Welterweight GP Semifinal Bout: Akihiro Gono vs. Ryo Chonan
Each fighter has some tough fights. Expect neither fighter to be that fresher then the other coming into the fight. Gono is a better striker then Chonan, and if Chonan decides he wants to strike with Gono, it could very well mean the end for him.

On the ground, Chonan should be able to use technique over Gono and control him there with both ground and pound, and submission attempts. If Gono can keep it standing, it's his fight to win but if Chonan can take Gono down to the ground and keep him there, he should be able to win the fight.

This one is a tough one to pick but I’m going to go with Gono because I think he’ll be able to keep the fight standing and win a decision.

Prediction: Akihiro Gono by decision.

Welterweight GP Semifinal Bout: Phil Baroni vs. Murilo Bustamante
This fight has been brewing for several years. Baroni wanted to fight Bustamante back in the UFC when both fighters were still there. If it goes to the ground, it’s only going to be a matter of time before Bustamante can get some kind of submission on Baroni. On the feet, I’ll give the edge to Baroni just because of his power, but Bustamante is no slouch on his feet, as seen in his fight with Sakurai.

In short, all Bustamante needs to do is use his striking to set up a takedown and get it to the ground. The longer that he stays on his feet with Baroni, the more likely he gives Baroni the knockout win. I’m going to go with Bustamante by submission in this one. I think, at this weight, he is one of the better fighters in the division.

Prediction: Murilo Bustamante by submission in the first round.