
Former Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Lightweight Champion Khabib Nurmagomedov was deboarded from his plane after a disagreement with a flight attendant over emergency exit row seating.
Nurmagomedov was flying with Frontier Airlines reportedly on his way to California to show support to his teammates for the upcoming UFC 311. He was seated at the emergency exit row which requires passengers to agree to assist others in case of an emergency.
A video has emerged on social media showing an exchange between a member of the flight crew and Nurmagomedov who is given two options – either to change his seat or deboard the plane.
Their verbal exchange was recorded by another passenger and posted on socials on January 12.
The UFC fighter asserts his ability to assist others in case of an emergency saying he speaks English and is aware of what to do. “I know the language….they asked me at the check-in do I know everything and I said yes” he can be heard saying in the video.
However, the flight attendant insists he vacate the seat. “They (flight attendants) are not comfortable with you sitting in the emergency row…I am not going to do this back and forth, I will call a supervisor,” the flight attendant tells Nurmagomedov.
The UFC fighter disagrees to change his seat and later is seen escorted off the flight.
In an X post on Monday, January 13, the UCF fighter clarifies his stand. He alleges racism and asks the crew to be respectful to passengers in future.
“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. What was the base for that, racial, national or other one, I’m not sure. 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. But those crew members could do better next time and just be nice with clients.” he said in the post.
Frontier Airlines has yet to put up a response to the incident.
Nurmagomedov is the longest-reigning UFC Lightweight Champion ever holding the title from April 2018 to March 2021.