UFC icon Khabib Nurmagomedov removed from plane after interaction with ‘rude’ staff

A video showed the argument between the fighter and a staff member, though the root of the issue was not entirely clear

Alex Pattle
Combat Sports Correspondent
Monday 13 January 2025 06:15 EST
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Khabib Nurmagomedov has addressed a video appearing to show him being removed from a plane, with the UFC legend accusing flight staff of being “rude from the very beginning”.

A video by TikTok user @viceplayer28 shows Nurmagomedov sitting in a window seat aboard a plane, with a member of airline staff addressing him while standing in the aisle.

While Nurmagomedov’s words are difficult to hear, the staff member seems to be speaking to him about whether the Russian, who was sat in the plane’s exit row, would be prepared to help other passengers in the event of an emergency.

“We cannot allow you to sit in the exit row,” the gate agent appears to say. “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.”

Nurmagomedov, 36, can be heard saying, “It’s not fair,” and that he had complied with the crew during the boarding process. “When I was in check-in, they asked me, do I know English… and I say yes,” he said. “Then why you guys do this?”

Nurmagomedov, who retired from mixed martial arts in 2020, later addressed the incident with a post on X (formerly Twitter). He wrote: “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.

“What was the base for that [...] 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.”

Frontier Airlines said in a statement: “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.

“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.

“As a result, he was asked to move to a different upgraded seat which he refused to do. Therefore, in accordance with airline and FAA policy, he was asked to deplane.

“The video circulating on social media does not show the initial interaction between Mr Nurmagomedov and the flight attendant, in which the flight attendant said Mr Nurmagomedov did not affirmatively respond to assist in the event of an emergency. Instead, it shows a later interaction after a gate agent entered the plane and reiterated the option to be reseated.”

Nurmagomedov retired with an unbeaten record and as UFC lightweight champion. He is most famous for his bitter rivalry with Conor McGregor, whom he submitted in 2018 – in the biggest UFC fight of all time.

The Russian has since coached other fighters and is expected to be in Los Angeles this weekend for UFC 311, where his cousin Umar and childhood friend Islam Makhachev are fighting. Umar is challenging for the men’s bantamweight title, while Makhachev is defending the lightweight belt.

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