Saraiva set to defend title when AFL enters Atlanta

The American Fight League on Tuesday announced two of the headlining bouts for its May 30 "Bulletproof" event in Atlanta's Philips Arena.

The main event features AFL lightweight champion and UFC veteran Diego Saraiva defending his title against Josh Cate.

"Josh is a phenomenal athlete with a misleading record," said Saraiva. "He has really improved since the beginning of his pro career. He is one of those fighters that on any given night he could beat you if you aren't careful."

Both fighters are black belts in jiu-jitsu, Saraiva fighting out of Nova Uniao and Cate under UFC veteran Hermes Franca. Cate intends on finding out whose jiu-jitsu is better on May 30.

"I have wanted this fight for so long just to prove that I am one of the best jiu-jitsu guys in the game," said Cate. "Diego is amazing, no doubt about that."

In another title bout, AFL veteran and a trainer of instructors for the Marine Corps Martial Arts Program, George Lockhart faces veteran fighter George Allen for the AFL middleweight belt.

"He has a lot of experience and that's what makes people dangerous ... I only want to fight the guys that are going to push me to the limit," said Lockhart about the match-up.

B.J. Santiago, the CEO of the AFL, agreed, saying of Lockhart vs. Allen, "Records are important, but we want opponents with styles that will test our fighters and their strengths. No one is protected in our league. No exceptions. You don't create the best fighters in the world by hand selecting opponents because of marketing needs."

The AFL event on May 30 will be the first mixed martial arts event in the 21,000-seat Philips Arena.