Outside Source
A video of retired UFC star Khabib Nurmagomedov being escorted off an Alaska Airlines flight has gone viral.
It appears staff reported feeling ‘uncomfortable’ with his apparent grasp of English as he sat in an exit row seat where he would need to assist in an emergency. pic.twitter.com/Bf7S7jLji6
— Al Jazeera English (@AJEnglish) January 12, 2025
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Frontier Airlines has released its side of the story regarding an incident where UFC Hall of Famer Khabib Nurmagomedov was removed from one of its flights over the weekend.
On Sunday, video surfaced of Nurmagomedov having an argument with a flight attendant about his seat on the exit row. The source of the disagreement appeared to be regarding Nurmagomedov’s ability to assist others in the event of an emergency. Though Nurmagomedov left the plane without incident, it prompted the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) to call for an investigation into potential racial and religious profiling of the UFC veteran.
Nurmagomedov, meanwhile, claimed that staff member was “very rude” and insisted on removing him from his seat even though he agreed to the conditions that accompaned his seat. The former lightweight champion was eventually able to board another plane and make it to his destination.
Frontier Airlines released a statement on Monday addressing the situation. The airline claims that the video released didn’t accurately depict everything that happened between Nurmagomedov and staff on hand.
“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,” Frontier’s statement read. “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. 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.”
Nurmagomedov is expected to be on hand to corner Islam Makhachev and Umar Nurmagomedov for their respective fights at UFC 311 on Saturday at the Intuit Dome in Los Angeles.
This article first appeared at Recent News on Sherdog.com
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