Former UFC Lightweight Champion Khabib Nurmagomedov, a household name among fans, was kicked off a flight after a seating dispute.
According to the New York Post, the incident took place on a Frontier Airlines flight on Saturday. Other outlets have reported that the event occurred on Alaska Airlines, but a spokesperson for the company has clarified that "We have checked our records and did not have this individual on an Alaska Airlines flight that day."
The incident was caught on video by a passenger a few seats away, and the news outlet Al Jazeera has added captions to a post on X.
The video shows Khabib talking to a flight attendant. We don't know what was said before the recording, but Khabib says, "I know the language. I know how to help people." The flight attendant responds, "It's not about the language, sir."
The attendant continues, "Okay, so what we're going to do is we're either going to have you switch your seat because my flight attendants are not allowing you to sit in the exit row. Or, you're going to have to get off this plane, and then we will have to rebook you."
It should be mentioned that Khabib is calm throughout the exchange, with no raised voices. When Khabib asks for reasons, the flight attendant says, "Because they (other flight attendants) are not comfortable with you sitting in the exit row."
Khabib exclaims, "It's not fair," to which the attendant responds, "It is fair." The former UFC champ explained that staff at the check-in had explained everything before he got on board.
It Remains Unclear Why Flight Attendants Removed Khabib From The Flight
The flight attendant fails to explain why Khabib needs to be reseated in the footage. After a brief back and forth, Khabib calmly gets up and leaves the plane.
Khabib
