Khabib Nurmagomedov, UFC 254 press convention Credit score: Gabriel Gonzalez/Cageside Press
Whereas a lot of the MMA world is in outcry over the remedy of former UFC light-weight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov by Frontier Airways, which led to him exiting a flight this previous Saturday, the airline is claiming the Corridor of Famer didn’t cooperate with them.
Whereas headed to California to nook teammates Islam Makhachev and Umar Nurmagomedov, Khabib was requested to alter his seat, positioned close to one of many aircraft’s exits, or be faraway from the plane. The aircraft was nonetheless on the tarmac on the time. Caught on video, Nurmagomedov calmly acknowledged that the requirement to maneuver wasn’t truthful, with many pointing to doable racial profiling after a Frontier worker claimed to be “uncomfortable” with him sitting there.
It later emerged that a part of the difficulty might have been the idea that Nurmagomedov wouldn’t be able to helping within the emergency, as a consequence of a perceived language barrier (Nurmagomedov, a Dagestani, does communicate English and has carried out media duties and not using a translator for years).
After issuing a short assertion to Cageside Press on Sunday stating that they have been reaching out to the athlete, Frontier Airways offered an extended clarification on Monday, by way of their Senior Director of Company Communications. In it, they declare that Nurmagomedov was in non-compliance of FAA rules as a result of he “did not respond” when repeatedly requested if he was capable of help in case of emergency.
“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. According to the flight attendant, Mr. Nurmagomedov did not respond, despite repeated attempts, which placed him in non-compliance with FAA requirements. As a result, he was asked to move to a different upgraded seat which he refused to do. Therefore, in accordance with airline and FAA policy, he was asked to deplane. 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.”
This instantly contradicts Khabib’s personal account. In an announcement issued on Sunday, the fighter stated that he had agreed to help in such circumstances. It needs to be famous that the airways’ assertion does learn “according to the flight attendant,” and that the video clip of the alternate between fighter and worker solely caught a part of the scenario.
Nonetheless, in that very same video clip, Nurmagomedov will be heard saying that “It’s not fair. You guys, when I checked in, they asked me, do I know English? Yes, I said.”
A Frontier worker then appears to substantiate this, responding that it’s additionally a judgment name. “They said yes, I understand that, but it’s also off of their judgment. I’m not going to do this back and forth. I will call a supervisor. You can either take a different seat or we can go ahead and escort you off the plane.”
Nurmagomedov, who stored his cool all through the encounter, left the aircraft voluntarily.
The scenario is a dicey one for Frontier, who’ve been dragged on-line (as was Alaska Air after initially being misidentified because the airline in query, and who’re in all probability respiration an enormous sigh of aid at this level). Khabib Nurmagomedov’s 38 million followers on Instagram dwarfs the next of Frontier on all social media platforms mixed.
