Was Khabib taken off the plane? Even one of the world’s most famous Muslims can’t seem to escape racial profiling in America. Your “position” doesn’t matter.@Alaska Airlines
This is complete garbage. pic.twitter.com/o6XB3KMi77
— Dr. Omar Suleiman (@omarsuleiman)
January 12, 2025
Former UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov was apparently forced off an Alaska Airlines flight over a dispute over an exit row seat.
A video shared by Dr. Omar Suleiman of the TikTok account Viceplayer28 shows Nurmagomedov arguing with a flight attendant about his seat on the plane. The disagreement appears to be about Nurmagomedov’s ability to assist others in an emergency. Although Nurmagomedov disagreed with the flight staff’s assessment, he appears to have exited the plane without incident.
The conversation with the flight attendant, transcribed by MMAFighting.com, is below.
Flight attendant: Okay. So, what you’re going to do now is that the flight attendant won’t allow you to sit in the exit row, so either you can change your seat or you can get off this plane. …because they’re uncomfortable with you sitting in the exit row.
Nurmagomedov: Is anyone offended?
Attendant: This is my flight attendant.
Nurmagomedov: That’s unfair.
Attendant: That’s fair.
Nurmagomedov: That’s unfair. Guys, when I checked in, they asked me do you know English? Yes, I said it.
Attendant: They said, yes, we understand that, but it’s also beyond their discretion. I’m not going to do this back and forth. Call your supervisor. You can choose to sit in a different seat or we will escort you off the plane.
Nurmagomedov: That’s unfair.
Attendant: Which one are you doing?
The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) subsequently issued a statement regarding the incident, calling for an investigation into possible racial and religious profiling against Nurmagomedov.
“We are asking Alaska Airlines and the U.S. Department of Transportation to explain what happened on this plane and why athlete and Muslim advocate Khabib Nurmagomedov was treated this way. We call for a swift and transparent investigation into this incident to determine exactly whether racial profiling influenced his actions,” the statement said.
“Given the frequency of incidents of racial and religious profiling that occur on airlines, particularly against visibly Muslim travelers, Alaska Airlines has made public the findings of its investigation and confirmed that there has been no misconduct by its employees. Appropriate measures should be taken to address any mistakes made.
Nurmagomedov is likely on the road ahead of UFC 311, where he will take on current lightweight champion Islam Makhachev and bantamweight title challenger Umar Nurmagomedov in Saturday’s bout.
