UFC champion Khabib Nurmagomedov removed from Alaska Airlines flight

The retired UFC fighter was involved in a seating incident with Alaska Airlines staff and was later escorted off the aircraft in Las Vegas in the US.

Footage has emerged online of Hall of Fame UFC fighter Khabib Nurmagomedov involved in a seating dispute with airline staff at Harry Reid International Airport in Las Vegas that led to the Russian being escorted off a flight he was taking to Los Angeles.

The dispute centred around whether Nurmagomedov, who was sitting in the plane’s exit row, was prepared, or able, to help other passengers in the event of an emergency.

On the video, an Alaska Airlines flight attendant is seen asking the 36-year-old if he had the capacity to assist others from his window exit seat, should he be required to do so.

The incident was recorded on another passenger’s mobile phone and the flight attendant is heard to say, “We cannot allow you to sit in the exit row … I am 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.”

Nurmagomedov responded to the flight attendant by saying, “It’s not fair.” He is also heard to say that he had fully complied with the flight crew during the onboarding process, and added: “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’s manager, not satisfied by the response from the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) legend, was heard on the video repeatedly offering Nurmagomedov another seat on the plane, as well as offering him the option to take another flight. It has been reported that Nurmagomedov was then escorted off the aircraft, along with his travelling companions.

It is believed that Nurmagomedov was flying to California to support his teammates ahead of the UFC 311 event on January 18 in Los Angeles, Nevada in the US.

Nurmagomedov, a Muslim, was unbeaten (29-0) in his UFC career and is considered by many to be one of the greatest MMA fighters of all time.

Alaska Airlines and Nurmagomedov have yet to comment on the incident, which is believed to have occurred on January 11.