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Khabib later dropped a post on X (formerly Twitter), clarifying his stance on the matter.
UFC Icon Khabib Nurmagomedov (X)
UFC legend Khabib Nurmagomedov was escorted off a plane following his heated altercation with a flight attendant onboard.
The MMA star was reportedly travelling from Las Vegas to Los Angeles on January 11 when the incident took place. He engaged in a heated argument with a cabin crew who asked him to move from the seat by the emergency exit, as reported by The Sun.
The verbal feud started out of confusion as per the eyewitnesses. The flight attendant asked Khabib if he would be able to assist his fellow passenger in case of an emergency.
This might be a formality for any traveller occupying that particular seat in the emergency aisle. Khabib, however, was irked by the question and started arguing with the crew member. He tried to make his points clear and the situation eventually escalated.
In a video going viral on social media, Khabib, wearing a blue hoodie, was captured having a back-and-forth with a staff.
The attendant reportedly asked Khabib to change his seats if he could not communicate with his fellow passengers in English. “We cannot allow you to sit in the exit row, or you’re going to have to get off this plane,” she was heard saying in the clip.
Khabib remained adamant about leaving his seat which led the crew member to call a security personnel. Later, the former UFC champion was seen making his way out of the plane along with the guard. He also claimed that the treatment towards him was “unfair”.
According to The Sun report, Khabib had already spoken to a member of the staff about his seat before boarding the flight. “When I was in check-in, they asked me do I knew English… and I said yes. Then why are you guying doing this?” the 36-year-old Russian told the cabin crew.
Khabib later dropped a post on X (formerly Twitter), clarifying his stance on the matter. He wrote, “The lady who came 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 insisted on removing me from my seat.”
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
“What was the base for that, racial, national or other one, I’m not sure… I did my best to stay calm and respectful as you can see on the video,” he added. The MMA superstar further revealed that he had to wait for “1.5 hours” before boarding another flight.
Khabib who retired from MMA with a stellar record of 29-0 was supposedly going to Los Angeles to cheer for his teammates ahead of UFC 311. The event will feature two championship matches. Islam Makhachev will defend his lightweight title against Arman Tsarukyan while Umar Nurmagomedov will go head-to-head against Merab Dvalishvili for the bantamweight championship.
