Khabib Nurmagomedov took to X after footage of the dispute emerged on social media [Getty]
Retired Russian mixed martial artist Khabib Nurmagomedov took to social media on Monday to address footage of him being removed from a flight in the United States after a dispute with airline staff.
Nurmagomedov said on X that the altercation took place on a Frontier Airlines flight from Las Vegas, with the former Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) champion questioning whether the the incident was racially motivated.
“First of all, I need to clarify that it was @FlyFrontier not AlaskaAir,” Nurmagomedov said, referring to earlier reports that had misidentified the airline.
“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.”
The dispute appears to have been over the sportsman’s suitability for sitting in the exit row, where passengers are assessed on their ability to safely exit and assist other passengers in the event of an emergency.
“I did my best to stay calm and respecttul [sic] as you can see on the video. But those crew members could do better next time and just be nice with clients,” Nurmagomedov said.
In video filmed by another passenger, a flight attendant is heard saying: “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.”
Nurmagomedov is heard responding that “It’s not fair”.
The MMA fighter also explains to the flight staff that he was asked whether he could speak English during the check-in process, which he confirmed.
He said on X that he later “boarded another airline”.
Nurmagomedov, who retired undefeated in the UFC, left the octagon with a record of 29-0. He is considered one of the top fighters in the sport’s history, having defeated fellow top athletes like Justin Gaethje and Conor Mcgregor.
