Who?
Khabib Nurmagomedov, you know, only the single best fighter in mixed martial arts (MMA) history. He began professionally fighting in 2008 and retired in 2020. Also an outspoken muslim from Dagestan whose faith has played a significant role in his life and professional career. For example, after his fights he often gives thanks to Allah and promotes values of humility and respect. On social media you can find he is often visiting the Kaaba to perform pilgrimages. Oh, and he also has an undefeated record of 29-0!
So why did he get removed from a flight?
After watching some of the footage from the incident and based on his accounting posted on Instagram it seems that a member of the flight crew did not think he could handle the responsibilities of sitting in an exit row seat. For those who don't fly often, the exit row seat has extra leg room but carries the responsibility of having to open the exit door in the case of an emergency. The flight crew always checks before take-off if those sitting in the exit row are prepared for this unlikely responsibility.
The online video starts with Khabib explaining he spoke English well and that he had confirmed with the flight crew he could handle the responsibility. However, the flight crew at this point were not listening and just gave him two options to move or be deplaned. He tried to explain this was unfair but again she did not listen and just said he had two options to move or be deplaned. Anyone familiar with Khabib knows he's visited America countless times, doing speaking tours around the country, and speaks perfect english.
Frontier's Statement
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.”
So why did he really get removed?
From the footage, you can see that Khabib was calm and polite throughout the interaction while the flight stewardess was hostile and rude. The online videos contradict Frontier's statement. He was calm and responsive and the stewardess said "They're not comfortable with you sitting there". "They" refers to the other stewardess. Khabib also confirms in the posted online video that he did respond when asked about the exit seat and again confirms in his Instagram post that he did respond. Khabib certainly does look like someone from Dagestan and he does have an accent, and sadly, most are speculating that the flight stewardess must hold some prejudices against him as the reason they "didn't feel comfortable with him". Some people joked that maybe she's just a really big McGregor fan. With America's dark past of racial prejudices and xenophobia of foreigners it's truly unfortunate to see this behavior in 2025.
