Khabib Nurmagomedov Removed from U.S. Flight Following Seating Dispute
Las Vegas, Nevada — Former UFC champion Khabib Nurmagomedov has claimed he was removed from a Frontier Airlines flight at Harry Reid International Airport in Las Vegas following a dispute over his seating assignment.
In a statement posted on X (formerly Twitter) on Monday, Nurmagomedov alleged that the incident may have involved racial discrimination. The retired mixed martial arts fighter clarified that the issue arose over his placement in an exit row and his ability to assist in an emergency.
The 36-year-old said the flight attendant who spoke to him “was very rude from the very beginning.” Despite his assurances that he spoke “very decent English” and was prepared to assist if needed, the attendant insisted on removing him from his seat, he added.
“What was the base for that, racial, national, or other one, I’m not sure,” Nurmagomedov wrote.
A widely circulated video of the encounter shows a flight attendant informing Nurmagomedov that he could not remain in the exit row seat. “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 attendant is heard saying.
Nurmagomedov, in response, expressed frustration, stating, “It’s not fair.” He also emphasized that he had cooperated fully with the flight crew during the boarding process, saying, “When I was in check-in, they asked me, do I know English… and I said yes. Then why you guys do this?”
The situation escalated when a supervisor joined the conversation and offered Nurmagomedov alternative seating or the option to take a later flight. The fighter was ultimately “deplaned” after security was called.
In his post, Nurmagomedov revealed he boarded another airline after a 90-minute delay and continued his journey to California, where he was traveling to support his teammates ahead of the UFC 311 event in Los Angeles.
Frontier Airlines has not commented on the incident. The exact date of the occurrence remains unclear.
Nurmagomedov’s remarks have reignited discussions about racial profiling and airline customer service, with the incident drawing significant attention online.