Khabib Nurmagomedov removed from Frontier Airlines flight, says crew 'could do better'

Former UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov confirmed Sunday he was removed from a Frontier Airlines flight Saturday.

Video surfaced Sunday that showed Nurmagomedov sitting in a seat next to a window in a conversation with a crew member. The crew member appears to be telling Nurmagomedov his choice was to move to a new seat or to be removed from the aircraft.

Moments later, another crew member arrives and Nurmagomedov is escorted off the flight.

Sunday, Nurmagomedov posted on Instagram to say the incident was related to whether or not he speaks and understands English – a requirement in exit row seats on aircraft departing from the U.S. He said he was “calm and respectful, as you can see on the video.” And it indeed was one of the calmest flight removals perhaps ever caught on camera (H/T Combat Casuals).

Nurmagomedov said he boarded a different flight not long after.

Nurmagomedov’s Instagram statement:

“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, 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 respectful as you can see on the video. But those crew members could do better next time and just be nice with clients.”

Khabib’s cousin, Umar Nurmagomedov, will challenge bantamweight champion Merab Dvalishvili for the title in the UFC 311 co-main event Saturday in Inglewood, Calif. Longtime Khabib protege and teammate Islam Makhachev puts his lightweight title on the line against Arman Tsarukyan in the main event.

 

Khabib Nurmagomedov was kicked off a flight after an interaction with the staff pic.twitter.com/1tXK6FBilw

— Combat Casuals (@Combat_Casuals) January 12, 2025