Khabib Nurmagomedov is one of the most recognized faces and names in the sport of MMA, but that didn't put an end to a dispute with a flight attendant on a commercial flight.
On Jan. 18 at UFC 311, former UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov will have an extremely busy night as he makes back-to-back fights for the co-main and main event.
In the co-main event, his cousin Umar Nurmagomedov looks to maintain his undefeated record when he takes on Merab Dvalishvili for the bantamweight title, and in the main event his old friend Islam Makhachev looks to defend his lightweight title against Arman Tsarukyan.
Photo by Josh Hedges/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images
Khabib Nurmagomedov involved in dispute with flight crew as video goes viral
Ahead of his fight against Tsarukyan, in which he will have the opportunity to break the record for most title defenses in the lightweight division, Makhachev has completed his preparation for the UFC PI in Las Vegas.
With UFC 311 scheduled to take place in Los Angeles despite last week's terrifying wildfires, Khabib and some of the team were spotted boarding a flight reportedly departing Las Vegas and arriving in LA for the start of fight week .
However, viral images have surfaced online after Nurmagomedov became involved in a dispute with a flight team member, which subsequently led to him being escorted off the plane.
The disagreement reportedly arose out of confusion, as it was claimed that the former UFC champion was asked to confirm that he could help other passengers off the plane in the event of an emergency, as he was sitting in the emergency aisle, which is a normal procedure.
Despite this, 'The Eagle' was subsequently left confused by the question, leading to a brief dispute with the flight attendant.
“I know the language and I know how to help people,” Khabib pleaded.
“It's not about the language. So what we're going to do is we're either going to have you switch seats because my flight attendants won't allow you to sit in the exit row, or we're going to have you get off this plane because they don't feel comfortable with that. You're in the exit row,” she replied.
'It's not fair. When I was checking in, you guys asked me if I know English and I said, 'Yes', it's not fair,” Khabib argued.
The flight attendant quickly called for help from her supervisor, who quickly boarded the plane and escorted the former UFC star off the flight.
Khabib Nurmagomedov was saved by his manager Ali Abdelaziz
After the altercation, it appeared as if Khabib and the friend he was on the flight with were left behind at their departure destination.
This isn't the first time Team Khabib has encountered problems regarding flights, as his late father Abdulmanap Nurmagomedov was denied a visa to enter the US for several years during 'The Eagle's' fighting career.
Despite the altercation and Nurmagomedov's subsequent removal from the flight, it appears he was saved by his manager and long-time friend, Ali Abdelaziz.
The image on Khabib's Instagram page shows the Russian in the same clothes he wore in the video outside what appears to be an airport.
Luckily for the team, the 36-year-old still has plenty of time to get to Inglewood for UFC 311 on Saturday night.
Related topics
Comments