Former UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov has spoken publicly after footage of his removal from a flight before takeoff went viral this weekend.
Khabib will be in Los Angeles next week as two of his team’s star fighters compete with gold on the line at the UFC 311 pay-per-view. Inside the Intuit Dome, Islam Makhachev will headline in defense of his lightweight crown, while Umar Nurmagomedov will first challenge for the bantamweight gold.
But while attention will soon be on their showdowns with Arman Tsarukyan and Merab Dvalishvili, respectively, the biggest talking point a day out from UFC 311 fight week has surrounded their coach.
A video emerged on Sunday showing Khabib being removed from a plane due to fly from Las Vegas to LA. Audio from the incident appeared to reveal a dispute with a flight attendant over the Dagestani’s seat on the emergency exit row.
After the video went viral and drew out plenty of reactions from the MMA community online, Khabib took to Instagram to give his side of the story and clarify which airline he was attempting to fly with.