Nate Diaz is officially a free agent after submitting Tony Ferguson in the main event of UFC 279.

The Stockton fan favourite had not competed inside the octagon since UFC 263 in June 2021 when he lost his comeback fight against Leon Edwards.

Talks have been ongoing over recent months over a new deal to continue his stay working for Dana White.

However, it has been widely reported that those discussions between The Ultimate Fighter 5 winner and the UFC hierarchy failed to result in a conclusion.

Now Diaz is officially a free agent, and speculation has already begun to mount about his future as he hinted at a switch to boxing from mixed martial arts.

The American MMA fighter could potentially open talks with Jake Paul's Most Valuable Promotions.

VIDEO: Nate Diaz aims dig at Conor McGregor in post-fight interview with Joe Rogan

Check out the video below...

And proving some rivalries never die, Diaz couldn't resist one final parting shot at Conor McGregor in his post-fight interview.

When asked what he wants to do next, he told Joe Rogan: "It's been a love-hate relationship but at the end of the day I love the UFC.

JUST IN: UFC 279 results: Nate Diaz submits Tony Ferguson, big wins for Aldana, Chimaev and Walker

"Shoutout to Dana White, Lorenzo Fertita and Hunter Campbell for giving the opportunities and the platform the whole time for everybody and for myself," Diaz said, gesturing with his hand to the crowd.

"I feel like I've had the longest career in the UFC and I've had the most successful one out of everybody. I outdid everybody on pay. I outdid everybody on surviving," the Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt then said, before discussing his future plans.

"I want to get out of the UFC for a minute and show all these UFC fighters how to take over and own up another sport how you're supposed to do it because Conor McGregor didn't know how to do it and none of these other fighters know how to do it," Diaz added, in reference to McGregor's professional debut when he lost via technical knockout to Floyd Mayweather in 2017.

READ MORE: Jake Paul vs Anderson Silva: Nate Diaz gives his honest reaction, and it will surprise many

"So I'm going to out there and take over another profession and become the best at that, show everybody I'm the best at that, then I'm going to be right the f*** back here to get a motherf***ing UFC title, the best title in the world," the 37-year-old continued.