Khabib Nurmagomedov, the Russian mixed martial arts fighter, announced recently that he was removed from a flight in the US. The incident happened at the Harry Reid International Airport in Las Vegas. He was removed after a seating dispute with the airline staff.
In a post on X on Monday, the legendary fighter of Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) clarified that the incident happened on a Frontier Airlines flight. Khabib also questioned in the same post if he had been a victim of racial discrimination. The footage of the incident took the internet by storm and instantly went viral. The initial media reports said that the incident had taken place on an Alaskan Airlines flight, but the UFC icon cleared that it was a Frontier Airlines flight. It is still not clear when the incident occurred, and Frontier Airlines is yet to comment. Khabib was sitting on the exit row of the plane. The dispute centres around whether the fighter was able or prepared to help the passengers during emergency.
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…— khabib nurmagomedov (@TeamKhabib) January 12, 2025
The UFC legend wrote on X and claimed that a flight attendant who spoke to him “was very rude from the very beginning”. He added that even though “he speaks very decent English and can understand everything and agreed to assist, she still insists on removing me from my seat.”
Nurmagomedov added, “What was the base for that, racial, national or other one, I’m not sure.” The viral clip that another passenger recorded. An attendant is heard telling the 36-year-old fighter, “We cannot allow you to sit in the exit row… I am not going to do this back and forth. I’ll go call a supervisor. You can either take a different seat or we can go ahead and escort you off the plane.”
“It’s not fair,” responded Khabib to the flight attendant. He was even heard saying that he completely complied with the airline’s crew during the onboarding process. He added, “When I was in check-in, they asked me, do I know English… and I say yes. Then why you guys do this?”
The flight attendant’s manager did not look satisfied with Khabib’s response and repeatedly offered him another seat. The manager even insisted that he take another flight. Nurmagomedov said that after two minutes of conversation, the attendant called for security. He was then ‘deplaned’ from the aircraft.
The Greatest UFC Fighter to Ever Walk The Planet Earth, Khabib Nurmagomedov gets Kicked OFF the Plane because the Flight Staff is “Not Comfortable” with a Muslim sitting near the Emergency Exit… pic.twitter.com/RAlZiyssF2
— Human Nature (@Human101Nature) January 12, 2025
“After 1.5 hours [sic], I boarded another airline… and left [for] my destination,” he wrote on X. It is believed that Khabib was travelling to California to support his teammates. He was supposed to witness the UFC 311 event on January 18 in Los Angeles, Nevada, in the US. Khabib Nurmagomedov, a Muslim, was an unbeatable fighter (29-0) during his UFC career. He is considered to be one of the greatest MMA fighters of all time.
