Former UFC light heavyweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov was removed from a plane this weekend after a disagreement with airline staff.
The incident occurred on Saturday on a Frontier Airlines flight departing from Harry Reid International Airport in Las Vegas over a misunderstanding between Nurmagomedov and a flight attendant about the former UFC fighter’s ability to assist the flight attendant in the event of an accident. It all started with what appears to be an incident. It was an emergency because he was sitting in the emergency exit row.
The nearly two-minute video begins with Nurmagomedov saying, “He knows how to help people,” in the middle of a conversation with airline staff.
At one point in the video, a staff member can be heard telling Nurmagomedov, “You’re not allowed to sit in the exit row.”
“I’m not going to go back and forth on this. I’m going to call the supervisor. You can either sit in a different seat or we can take you off the plane,” Nurmagomedov protests. After trying, she said,
He continued to insist that he fully followed the flight crew’s instructions.
“When I checked in, I was asked if I could speak English, and I said yes,” he said. “So why are you guys doing this?”
A supervisor was brought onto the plane, and Nurmagomedov eventually exited the plane without incident.
After Nurmagomedov disembarked, a man believed to be part of Nurmagomedov’s companion was also seen getting off the plane.
Multiple media outlets named the flight Alaska Airlines, but an airline spokesperson told the Post in an email that the flight number was “incorrectly” identified.
“A review of our records shows this individual was not on any Alaska Airlines flights that day,” the spokesperson said.
Nurmagomedov addressed the incident in a post on X on Sunday night, identifying the airline involved as Frontier.
“The woman who asked me questions was very rude from the beginning.Even though I spoke very decent English, could understand everything, and agreed to cooperate, she still insisted on removing me from my seat. “I don’t know what the racial, national, or other basis was,” he wrote.
“But after a two-minute conversation, she called security and I was taken off this plane and an hour and a half later I boarded another airline and headed to my destination. As you can see in the video. , I tried my best to remain calm and respectful. But maybe those crew members could do better next time and be kinder to their clients.”
Frontier Airlines confirmed the incident in a statement to the Post.
“On January 11, 2025, as Flight 4401 from Las Vegas to San Francisco was preparing to depart, a flight attendant began the customary briefing for passengers in the exit row. Habib, a customer sitting in the exit row. “Nurmagomedov was asked multiple times whether he would be willing to cooperate in the event of an emergency,” the company said.
“According to flight attendants, Mr. Nurmagomedov did not respond despite repeated attempts, violating FAA requirements. As a result, he was asked to move to another upgraded seat. but he refused it Therefore, in accordance with airline and FAA policy, he was asked to leave the plane.The decision to remove this customer from the plane had nothing to do with his ethnicity, so we removed him and his travel companion. I received a refund for the flight ticket.
