After being removed from a flight, Khabib Nurmagomedov will need to find alternative transportation to Los Angeles ahead of UFC 311.
At the event, he is set to corner both lightweight champion Islam Makhachev and bantamweight challenger Umar Nurmagomedov in the title fights scheduled for Saturday, Jan. 18.
The incident reportedly occurred during a flight from Las Vegas to Los Angeles. Khabib was asked to leave the plane following an argument with a flight attendant regarding his seating in an emergency exit row.
Passengers seated in these rows are required to understand and comply with crew commands and may be asked to assist in operating the emergency door if necessary. According to reports, Khabib initially did not understand the flight attendant’s instructions, which prompted her to request that he either switch seats or get off the plane.
In a video of the incident, the flight attendant explained the situation.
“Okay, so what we’re gonna do is either have you switch your seat, because my flight attendants are not allowing you to sit in the exit row, or you’re gonna have to get off this plane.”
Khabib responded by questioning the decision.
“When I was in check-in, they asked me, ‘Do I know English?’ And I say yes. Then why you guys do this?”
The flight attendant replied by repeating the options.
“I understand that, but it’s also off of their judgment. I’m not going to do this back and forth. I’ll go call a supervisor. You can either take a different seat or we can go ahead and escort you off the plane.”
Khabib’s current travel status is unclear.
