UFC Hall of Famer Khabib Nurmagomedov broke his silence after viral footage surfaced of him getting kicked off an airline during the flight’s boarding process.
Khabib Nurmagomedov‘s hectic UFC 311 fight week got off to a bizarre start when he was removed by Frontier Airlines flight attendants from a plane over a misunderstanding over exit row seating.
In now-viral footage, Nurmagomedov can be seen wearing a blue coat in an exit row window seat when flight attendants asked him to vacate the plane. The flight attendants cited Nurmagomedov’s lack of English fluency as the primary reason for his removal.
According to FAA guidelines in the United States, you cannot sit in the exit row of a plane if English isn’t your first language. However, Nurmagomedov’s English is arguably as close to fluent as you can get, compared to how fluent he was early in his fighting career.
The controversy made waves online and for the first time since the incident, Nurmagomedov has explained his side of the story.
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Khabib Nurmagomedov questions whether or not airline incident was racial profiling
In a social media statement, Nurmagomedov told his side of what happened this weekend on his way to UFC 311.
“First of all, I need to clarify that it was [Frontier Airlines] and not [Alaska Airlines],” Nurmagomedov began.
“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 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 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.”
As of this writing, Frontier Airlines hasn’t issued a response to Nurmagomedov’s claims. Al-Jazeera and other outlets originally reported that Nurmagomedov was removed from an Alaska Airlines flight and not Frontier Airlines.
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Khabib Nurmagomedov looks ahead to a busy night at UFC 311
Nurmagomedov, one of the greatest UFC fighters of all time, is set to corner Islam Makhachev and his cousin, Umar at UFC 311 this weekend in Los Angeles. Makhachev will defend the UFC lightweight title in a rematch against Arman Tsarukyan, while Umar Nurmagomedov faces UFC bantamweight titleholder Merab Dvalishvili in the co-main.
UFC 311, as of this writing, is still scheduled for the Intuit Dome in Los Angeles, although the promotion is reportedly considering moving the card to Las Vegas amidst the California wildfires. Either way, Nurmagomedov will coach Umar and Makhachev this weekend in their pair of title fights.
Nurmagomedov retired from fighting in 2020 following a win over Justin Gaethje at UFC 254. He entered the UFC Hall of Fame in 2022 alongside his longtime American Kickboxing Academy teammate Daniel Cormier.
The incident involving Nurmagomedov and Frontier Airlines remains under investigation.
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