The retired UFC fighter was involved in a seat dispute with Frontier Airlines staff and was subsequently escorted off the plane in Las Vegas, US.
Russian mixed martial artist Khabib Nurmagomedov says he was removed from a U.S. flight after a seat dispute with airline staff at Harry Reid International Airport in Las Vegas.
In a post on X on Monday, the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) legend revealed that the incident happened on a Frontier Airlines flight and questioned whether he was the victim of racism.
Footage of the incident was widely shared online, and initial reports said it occurred on an Alaska Airlines flight.
The dispute centered on whether Nurmagomedov, who was sitting in the plane’s exit row, was prepared or able to help other passengers in the event of an emergency.
Writing in X, the 36-year-old UFC champion said the flight attendant who spoke to him was “extremely rude from the start.”
And even though he spoke “very decent English, understood everything, and agreed to cooperate, she still insists on removing me from my seat,” he said.
“I don’t know what the basis for that was, racial, national or otherwise,” he added.
First of all, I need to clarify that this is @FlyFrontier, not AlaskaAir.
The woman who came to ask me a question was extremely rude from the beginning. Even though I speak very decent English, can understand everything, and have agreed to help, they still insist on removing me from my account.— Khabib Nurmagomedov (@TeamKhabib) January 12, 2025
He did not say when the incident occurred, and Frontier Airlines has not yet commented.
A video of the dispute, recorded by another passenger, shows a flight attendant telling Nurmagomedov, “I can’t let you sit in the exit row…I’m not going to do this again. I’m going to call the supervisor.” Please take a seat or we will remove you from the plane.”
“That’s not fair,” the retired UFC fighter told the flight attendant.
He was also heard to say that he fully followed the instructions of the flight attendants during the boarding process, adding: So why do you guys do this? ”
The flight attendant’s manager was seen on video not satisfied with Nurmamegedov’s response and repeatedly offered him the option of taking another seat on the plane or on another flight.
Nurmagomedov said that after a two-minute conversation, the flight attendant called security and was “removed” from the plane.
“An hour and a half later (sic) I boarded another airline and left for my destination,” he wrote to X.
Nurmagomedov is believed to have flown to California to cheer on his teammates ahead of the UFC 311 event in Los Angeles, Nevada, USA on January 18th.
Nurmagomedov, a Muslim, is undefeated in his UFC career (29-0) and is considered by many to be one of the best MMA fighters of all time.
