After promoting more than 700 mixed martial arts events and managing fighters like Tim Sylvia to a handful of Ultimate Fighting Championship titles and other accolades, Monte Cox knows what makes for an entertaining show.

Now, local fans of naked chokes, roundhouse kicks to the noggin and the good ‘ol fashioned ground-and-pounds are going to reap the benefits of his experience.

After visiting Soaring Eagle as a prospective venue some 10 years ago, Cox has finally pulled the trigger and will host the International Fighting Championships Extreme Challenge there on July 10.

"This is my first one at Soaring Eagle," said Cox, who also currently manages a stable of 60 fighters. "My wife is from Detroit, so I have pretty strong Michigan ties. I actually met my wife at a Tigers game. When I get to go back to Michigan, that's a big deal for me."

And Cox's trip to Mount Pleasant should resonate as a pretty big deal to hardcore MMA fans as well. The 10-fight event will feature two co-main events, one of which will be between Jeff Monson (33-9) and Mike Whitehead (24-7) for the IFC Extreme Heavyweight Title. Both fighters are ranked in the top 20 in the world among heavyweights.

Jeremy Horn (84-19) and Sean Salmon (16-7) will also go toe-to-toe for the IFC World Middleweight title. The 35-year-old Horn is the second most winning fighter in all MMA. The greener Salmon is most recognized for taking a brutal knock out kick from Rashad Evans at a UFC event. The feat is well documented in the realms of YouTube.

IFC Extreme Challenge Mixed Martial Arts fighting Soaring Eagle Casino, Mt. Pleasant July 10, 8 p.m. $30-$70 soaringeaglecasino.com, (888) 7EAGLE7

"I think we put together a couple really good national-level fights," Cox said. "That's what we wanted to do. We wanted to separate ourselves. Every area has their local shows with local fighters. We wanted to give people a chance to see what they could see live at a Strikeforce or UFC event."

With the tricky Michigan legislation that specifies where events can be held and when/if fighters can get paid, there is a certain sort of hunger for shows above the amateur fights that have occasionally crop.

"Local MMA is great," Cox said. "We do local shows, too, and everyone has to build somewhere but I think every so often you want to see something bigger. If you can't afford to buy a couple thousand dollar tickets to a UFC event and fly to Vegas, we're trying to create an option."