UFC legend Khabib Nurmagomedov was recently removed from an American flight following a disagreement with a flight attendant. The incident began when the flight attendant, seemingly noticing a language barrier, asked Khabib to move to another seat. He declined the request.
Khabib Nurmagomedov was kicked off a flight after apparent racial profiling pic.twitter.com/i758AnT2Sa
— FearBuck (@FearedBuck) January 12, 2025
In a video recorded by fellow passengers, the flight attendant can be heard saying, “We cannot allow you to sit in the exit row, or you’re going to have to get off this plane.” Khabib responded, expressing his frustration: “It’s not fair. When I was at check-in, they asked me if I knew English, and I said yes. Then why are you doing this?”
Despite Khabib’s protests, the flight attendant stood her ground, saying, “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 ask you to leave the plane.” When the supervisor also failed to persuade Khabib to switch seats, he was ultimately asked to disembark.
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The flight attendant is heard telling him, “We cannot allow you to sit in the exit row… I’ll call a supervisor. You can either take another seat or we can escort you off the plane.”
Khabib Nurmagomedov, visibly upset, replies, “It’s not fair,” and adds that he had complied with all requirements during check-in. He mentions that when he was asked if he spoke English at check-in, he confirmed he did. “Why are you doing this?” he asks in frustration.
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Despite Khabib Nurmagomedov’s objections, the flight attendant’s supervisor offered him a different seat or the option to take another flight. However, the situation escalated, and it was reported that the UFC legend, along with his companions, was escorted off the aircraft.
Khabib clarified the incident in his tweet the following day
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…— khabib nurmagomedov (@TeamKhabib) January 12, 2025