Manager: Nate Diaz willing to fight Gray Maynard ... just not at TUF 18 Finale

When Nate Diaz tweeted that he wouldn't be able to make it to his fight against Gray Maynard at The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) 18 Finale in Las Vegas, Nevada, on Nov. 30, 2013, because he instead had to attend his high school reunion, he raised more than a few eyebrows.

Among them were those of Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) President Dana White, who said he was "shocked" (sarcastically, I'm assuming) that a Diaz brother would say or do something "crazy."

Nevertheless, the outspoken "Sin City" fight boss brushed off the announcement, because he doesn't consider Twitter a viable news source.

According to Nate's manager, Mike Kogan, the tweet wasn't sent out because his client was refusing to step up and scrap for the third time against "The Bully," he just preferred to do it at UFC on FOX 9 on Dec. 14, 2013 in Sacramento, California, an hour away from Nate's home in nearby Stockton.

It's all about location, location, location, as Kogan recently told MMA Junkie:

"It just makes sense that he fights Gray Maynard, who's ranked above him, on the same card where there's a title fight, so he just expressed a desire to fight on the Sacramento card."

And as far as the whole "high school reunion" excuse, it simply isn't true:

"It has nothing to do with the reunion or no reunion. He would like to see if he could fight on the Sacramento card. It's only two weeks later. It's closer to his house; it's like fighting in your backyard with more fans. That's really what it's about."

While it may be more convenient to fight near your hometown as opposed to having to fly out to another state, one could argue the exposure Diaz would get on the "big" FOX channel as opposed to FOX Sports 1 may also be a contributing factor.

After all, it's safe to assume sponsors would likely pay a bit more cash if their logo is seen all over the major cable network during an event that features a lightweight title fight between Anthony Pettis and Josh Thomson, opposed to one that has Demetrious Johnson defending his flyweight title against Joseph Benavidez for the second time.

For the record, Nate's last three bouts against Ben Henderson, Josh Thomson and Jim Miller have all aired on FOX. As of today (Oct. 1, 2013) the official UFC website has Diaz facing Maynard at the TUF 18 Finale on Nov. 30 on Las Vegas.

Anyone expecting that to change?