Khabib Nurmagomedov, the former Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) lightweight champion known for his undefeated 29-0 record, was removed from a Frontier Airlines flight due to a dispute with airline staff over his seating arrangement in the exit row.
In a post on X on Monday, the UFC legend clarified that the incident occurred on a Frontier Airlines flight and questioned if he had been the victim of racial discrimination.
“What was the base for that, racial, national or other one, I’m not sure,” he wrote.
This incident occurred at Harry Reid International Airport in Las Vegas, as he was heading to Los Angeles to support his teammates for the UFC 311 event scheduled for January 18.
According to reports, the dispute arose when a flight attendant questioned Nurmagomedov’s ability to assist in an emergency, given his seating in the exit row.
In the video of the dispute, a flight attendant is heard telling Nurmagomedov, “We cannot allow you to sit in the exit row… 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 go ahead and escort you off the plane.”
The retired UFC fighter responded to the flight attendant by saying, “It’s not fair.”
He is also heard to say that he had fully complied with the flight crew during the onboarding process and added: “When I was in check-in, they asked me, do I know English… and I say yes. Then why you guys do this?”
The flight attendant’s manager was heard on the video repeatedly offering him another seat on the plane, as well as the option to take another flight.
After approximately two minutes of discussion, security was called, and Nurmagomedov was escorted off the plane. He later boarded another flight to reach his destination.
The MMA community, including notable figures like Daniel Cormier and Hasbulla, have expressed support for Nurmagomedov, with some even calling for a boycott of Frontier Airlines. Frontier Airlines has acknowledged the incident and stated they are investigating the matter.
 lightweight champion known for his undefeated 29-0 record, was removed from a Frontier Airlines flight due to a dispute with airline staff over his seating arrangement in the exit row.){kind=link}