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This past weekend, video surfaced of former UFC champion Khabib Nurmagomedov being kicked off a Frontier Airlines flight. The fighter turned coach was flying from Las Vegas to Los Angeles for UFC 311 when he was escorted off the plane.
It wasn’t totally clear at the time why Khabib was kicked off the flight, but it appeared to have something to do with him being seated next to an emergency exit and the flight attendant’s concern that he couldn’t speak English very well.
“What we’re going to do is either have you switch your seat because my flight attendants are not allowing you to sit in the exit row, or we’re going to have to remove you from this plane and re-book you,” he was told.
Following the incident, Khabib Nurmagomedov wrote on X (Twitter), “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 respecttul [sic] as you can see on the video. But those crew members could do better next time and just be nice with clients.”
It was originally reported by numerous media outlets that it was an Alaska Airlines flight, but Khabib clarified that it wasn’t, and a statement issued on Monday by Frontier Airlines makes that very clear.
“On Jan. 11, 2025, as flight 4401 from Las Vegas to San Francisco was preparing for departure, a flight attendant initiated the customary briefing for exit row passengers,” Frontier Airlines wrote in a statement published by MMA Fighting. “Customer Khabib Nurmagomedov, who was seated in an exit row, was asked multiple times if he was willing and able to assist in the event of an emergency. According to the flight attendant, Mr. Nurmagomedov did not respond, despite repeated attempts, which placed him in non-compliance with FAA requirements. The flight attendant informed Mr. Nurmagomedov that he could be moved to a different upgraded seat or exit the plane.
“Videos circulating on social media platforms do not capture this interaction, and instead show a subsequent interaction after a gate agent entered the plane and reiterated the option to be reseated. As a result of the customer’s initial unresponsiveness and repeated declinations of a seat change, he was asked to deplane per airline and FAA policy. The decision to deplane the customer was in no way related to his ethnicity and we have refunded him and his traveling companions for their flights.”
Numerous fans and friends of Khabib, including the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) begged to differ with Frontier Airlines’ claim that his removal had nothing to do with him being profiled.
“We call on Frontier and the U.S. Department of Transportation to swiftly and transparently investigate this incident to determine exactly what happened on this flight and why athlete and Muslim advocate Khabib Nurmagomedov was treated this way and whether religious or racial profiling played a role in his treatment,” CAIR National Executive Director Nihad Awad said in a statement.
“Given how often incidents of racial and religious profiling occur on airlines, especially against travelers who are noticeably Muslim, [Frontier Airlines] should also publicly release the results of its investigation and take appropriate action to address any misconduct or mistakes by its staff.”
Can you imagine, an emergency happens on your plane and you would prefer a “perfect” speaking human instead of one of the greatest athletes of all time because you’re “uncomfortable” with his ability to speak English(which is very good, btw) – this is bizarre. Not only was he the…
— Michael Chandler (@MikeChandlerMMA) January 13, 2025