Former combined martial arts champion Khabib Nurmagomedov was escorted from a aircraft after he refused to maneuver from an exit seat.
The Russian, 36, had a disagreement with a flight attendant earlier than take-off on the Frontier Airways flight which was reportedly flying from Las Vegas to Los Angeles.
In a video of the incident shared extensively on social media on Sunday, Khabib is advised to both transfer seats or get off the aircraft and be rebooked on one other flight.
The video, which is simply over a minute lengthy, has not been verified by the BBC and it isn’t clear what occurred within the build-up however Khabib has put a proof on his social media.
When he questions why he’s being requested to maneuver, the previous undefeated UFC light-weight champion is advised: “As a result of they [the flight attendants] will not be comfy with you sitting within the emergency exit row” and he replies “It isn’t honest”.
He’s then warned once more and the attendant says she is going to name a supervisor if he doesn’t transfer.
Khabib replies that he “wish to sit right here” earlier than he’s requested to depart by one other member of employees. He then calmly leaves the aircraft.
Khabib is considered top-of-the-line MMA fighters of all time and received all 29 of his UFC fights includin,g beating Conor McGregor in 2018.
In a press release on X, Khabib stated: “[The lady who asked me] questions was very impolite from the very starting, although I converse very first rate English and might perceive every thing and agreed to help, she nonetheless insists on eradicating me from my seat.
“What was the bottom for that, racial, nationwide or different one, I am undecided.
“However after two minutes of dialog, she known as safety and I used to be deplaned from this plane, [and later] I boarded one other airline and left to my vacation spot.
“I did my greatest to remain calm and respectful as you possibly can see on the video.
“However these crew members may do higher subsequent time and simply be good with purchasers.”
Responding to Khabib’s submit on X, Frontier Airways wrote: “We’re conscious of the incident and are investigating.”
In an additional assertion to BBC Sport, the airline stated: “Now we have refunded the shoppers and can observe up with them straight.”
