Former UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov was removed from a Frontier Airlines flight at Las Vegas’ Harry Reid International Airport following a dispute with airline staff over his seating in an exit row. A video of the incident, which has since gone viral on social media, shows the retired fighter defending his actions and questioning the airline’s decision.
Sharing his account on X, Nurmagomedov clarified, “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 seat.”
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The issue arose when a flight attendant questioned Nurmagomedov’s ability to assist passengers in an emergency, a standard requirement for those seated in exit rows. Despite his assurances and willingness to comply, the 36-year-old athlete said he was treated unfairly.
“When I was in check-in, they asked me, do I know English… and I said yes. Then why you guys do this?” he is heard saying in a video recorded by a fellow passenger. In the footage, the flight attendant tells him, “I am not going to do this back and forth. I’ll go call a supervisor,” before security was called.
Nurmagomedov later posted, “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 hours, I boarded another airline 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.”
Widely regarded as one of the greatest fighters in UFC history with an undefeated 29-0 record, Nurmagomedov was traveling to California to support his teammates at UFC 311. The event will feature title fights involving Islam Makhachev and Umar Nurmagomedov, his proteges.
