By John Ogunsemore
Former UFC champion Khabib Nurmagomedov has reacted after he got deplaned over a disagreement with a Frontier Airlines flight attendant.
The incident, which was captured in a video that circulated on social media, occurred at the Harry Reid International Airport in Las Vegas, United States.
The mixed martial arts fighter from Dagestan, Russia was travelling with a friend at the time of the incident.
In an X post on Monday, Khabib, who maintained his characteristic calm mien during the encounter, questioned if he had been the victim of racial discrimination.
He said, “Lady who comes to me with questions was very rude from the very beginning, even though I speak very decent English and can understand everything and agreed to assist, she still insists on removing me from my seat. What was the base for that, racial, national or other one, I’m not sure.”
He added, “But after 2 minutes of conversation, she called security and I was deplaned from this aircraft. After 1,5 hour I boarded another airline one and left to my destination.”
Khabib added that he tried to be calm during the encounter but charged the Frontier Airlines crew to treat customers better.
“I did my best to stay calm and respectful as you can see on the video.
“But those crew members could do better next time and just be nice with clients,” he said.