UFC's White: 'Unbelievable' that Ngannou went the distance with Fury

UFC CEO Dana White can't help but be impressed by what Francis Ngannou accomplished against Tyson Fury.

Speaking on Donald Trump Jr.'s "Triggered" podcast, White said Thursday he didn't watch the fight but was surprised to find out the former UFC heavyweight champion managed to go the distance with the World Boxing Council heavyweight champ.

"The fact that (Ngannou) went 10 rounds with Tyson Fury, it's crazy," White said. "If you look at - he just went 10 rounds with Tyson Fury. Conor (McGregor) made it nine or 10 with Floyd (Mayweather Jr.). Anthony Pettis just beat Roy Jones Jr. I know Roy's friggin' 60 years old or whatever. But I mean, I don't know what the hell is going on. It's crazy.

"I didn't see the fight, but the fact that (Ngannou) went 10 rounds is unbelievable."

Ngannou exceeded expectations - and, in some ways, altered the combat sports landscape - in his boxing debut, dropping Fury and taking him to a split decision last weekend in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

White was critical of Ngannou after he parted ways with the UFC as the reigning heavyweight champion in January to test free agency. White believed the 37-year-old wanted to cash bigger paychecks against lesser opposition and said in March he'll "never be in the UFC again."

However, Ngannou's decision to leave the promotion has paid off. His manager, Marquel Martin, said ahead of the Fury fight that Ngannou was poised to take home the biggest payday of his career, and "The Predator" also signed a lucrative deal with the Professional Fighters League to compete in MMA.

When asked about other UFC fighters potentially wanting to cross over to boxing - and if Ngannou's departure hurt the promotion - White said he has to be OK with his athletes moving on to other ventures.

"I don't care," White said. "Listen, these guys - at some point, everybody's gonna move on. Everybody has to do what's right for them and make money for their families. So whatever they gotta do, they gotta do."

Though Fury-Ngannou was more competitive than White expected, he believes these kinds of crossover and influencer fights garnering such a high interest among combat sports fans shows how "broken" the boxing business is.

"The fact that this fight this weekend is more talked about than a (Terence) Crawford fight is crazy," White said.