Frontier Airlines explained UFC Hall of Famer Khabib Nurmagomedov’s recent removal from a plane traveling from Las Vegas to San Francisco.
Khabib Nurmagomedov‘s final preparations for his UFC 311 coaching gig hit an odd speed bump ahead of Saturday’s pay-per-view card. On a recent Frontier Airlines flight set to fly from Las Vegas to San Francisco, Nurmagomedov was forced off the flight after the crew became uncomfortable with his ability to assist in the event of an emergency while sitting in an exit row.
Nurmagomedov has since opened up on the now-viral incident and questioned whether or not his removal from the flight was discriminatory. Luckily, he was able to get on another flight and travel to San Francisco without further issues.
After footage of the altercation went viral on social media, many criticized Frontier Airlines for removing Nurmagomedov from his seat. The airline has since broken silence and explained its side of the story.
Frontier Airlines denies prejudice led to Khabib Nurmagomedov’s removal
In a recent statement to MMA Fighting, Frontier Airlines addressed the viral incident involving the UFC Hall of Famer.
“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,” the company said. “According to the flight attendant, Mr. Nurmagomedov did not respond, despite repeated attempts, which placed him in non-compliance with FAA requirements. The flight attendant informed Mr. Nurmagomedov that he could be moved to a different upgraded seat or exit the plane.
“Videos circulating on social media platforms do not capture this interaction, and instead show a subsequent interaction after a gate agent entered the plane and reiterated the option to be reseated. As a result of the customer’s initial unresponsiveness and repeated declinations of a seat change, he was asked to deplane per airline and FAA policy. The decision to deplane the customer was in no way related to his ethnicity and we have refunded him and his traveling companions for their flights.”
Khabib will corner Islam Makhachev and Umar Nurmagomedov on the upcoming UFC 311 card in Los Angeles. Makhachev will face Arman Tsarukyan in the main event, and Umar will challenge Merab Dvalishvili for the UFC bantamweight championship.
Khabib Nurmagomedov set to corner UFC 311 main and co-main fights
Nurmagomedov is arguably one of the greatest UFC fighters of all time after a Hall of Fame career in the Octagon. He retired from fighting after a win over Justin Gaethje at UFC 254.
During his fighting career, Nurmagomedov defeated Conor McGregor, Dustin Poirier, and Michael Johnson. He entered the UFC Hall of Fame in 2022 alongside his American Kickboxing Academy teammate Daniel Cormier.
After the incident, Nurmagomedov will return his attention to UFC 311 and cornering two of his top pupils on the first UFC pay-per-view of the year.
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