KUALA LUMPUR: Former UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov was escorted off a plane following a disagreement with a flight attendant.
The incident, which occurred on a flight from Harry Reid International Airport in Las Vegas to Los Angeles last Saturday, quickly went viral on social media.
In a video circulating online, the 36-year-old Khabib is seen in a verbal exchange with airline staff while seated in the emergency exit row.
An unidentified airline employee informs him that he must either change his seat or leave the aircraft due to concerns raised by flight attendants about his seating.
Khabib later took to X to share his side of the story, saying that despite his efforts to remain calm, security eventually removed him from the plane.
"The lady who approached me with questions was very rude from the start. Even though I spoke decent English, understood everything, and agreed to assist, she still insisted on removing me from my seat," he wrote.
Khabib questioned the reasoning behind the action, suggesting it might have been due to racial or national factors, though he was unsure.
"After just two minutes of conversation, she called security, and I was deplaned.
"About one and a half hours later, I boarded a flight with another airline and reached my destination."
He said that he remained calm and respectful throughout the ordeal, as seen in the video.
"However, those crew members could improve their approach in the future and be kinder to their customers," he added.
Following the incident, many social media users, particularly on X, accused Frontier Airlines of discriminating against Khabib due to his Islamic faith.
In response, Frontier Airlines acknowledged the situation and said that an investigation was underway.