Former UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov was escorted off a plane after an on-board dispute with Frontier Airlines.
Footage of the incident, which reportedly took place on a flight leaving Las Vegas’ Harry Reid International Airport on Saturday according to multiple outlets, has been making the rounds on social media.
In clips that surfaced on Sunday, Nurmagomedov, 36, was seen debating with airline staff while sitting in the exit row on the plane headed to Los Angeles. An unidentified airline employee was seen telling the Russia-born mixed martial artist he either had to switch seats or get off the plane.
The airline told Nurmagomedov that the “flight attendants” were not “comfortable” with him “sitting in the exit row.”
“It’s not fair,” Nurmagomedov said, prompting the worker to reply, “It is fair. Yes, it is.”
Nurmagomedov then explained to the worker that during the check-in process for the flight, he was asked if he knew English, which he said he confirmed to the airline staff that he did.
“I understand that, but it’s also off of their judgment. I’m not going to do this back-and-forth. I will call a supervisor,” the airline worker told Nurmagomedov in the clip.
The pair’s conversation ended after the employee reiterated that Nurmagomedov could either switch seats or be escorted off the plane.
“Which one are we doing?” she questioned before telling him that she would “call a supervisor” and he would need to be rebooked on a different flight.
After the exchange, Nurmagomedov stood up and walked to the front of the plane.
The now-viral clip caused a stir on social media, with many people on X, formerly Twitter, accusing Frontier Airlines of profiling Nurmagomedov, who is Muslim.
This is incredibly disappointing to see. Khabib Nurmagomedov is a very respectful down to earth person who sets a great example. He’s had a tremendously positive impact around the world.
Why would they do this? It’s very very clear to me. Looks to me like they profiled him.… https://t.co/Co7wkKZg6d
Khabib getting kicked off a plane cuz they didn't feel comfortable with him sitting in the emergency exits - YOU ARE MORE LIKELY TO DIE FROM A PLANE CRASH CUZ THESE CORPORATIONS CHEAT ON SAFETY REGULATIONS THAN A HIJACKING YOU IDIOTS
— riff 🪂 (@Riffs33) January 12, 2025In the face of bigotry and discrimination the way Khabib Nurmagomedov dealt with that flight attendant is just a testament to his character.
He remained patient and didn’t let frustration overwhelm him even though it would be justified as he was racially profiled.
Let me guess this straight: Khabib was assigned the seat that helps the passengers incase of an emergency, which he agreed to do, BUT some random female passenger complained he didn’t speak enough English to do this job? And they kicked him off? https://t.co/p4YRKumv4a
— 𝗃𝖺𝗌_𝗋777 (@jas_r777) January 12, 2025HuffPost has reached out to Nurmagomedov’s reps and Frontier Airlines for comment.
On Sunday, Nurmagomedov publicly addressed the incident in a post on X.
“First of all, I need to clarify that it was @FlyFrontier not AlaskaAir. Lady who comes to me with questions was very rude from the very beginning, even though I speak very decent English and can understand everything and agreed to assist, she still insists on removing me from my seat,” he wrote. “What was the base for that, racial, national or other one, I’m not sure.”
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He continued: “But after 2 minutes of conversation, she called security and I was deplaned from this aircraft, after 1.5 hour I boarded another airline one and left to my destination. I did my best to stay calm and [respectful] as you can see on the video.”
Wrapping up his message, Nurmagomedov added, “But those crew members could do better next time and just be nice with clients.”
English (US) ·