Khabib Nurmagomedov being kicked off from a flight was probably not on anyone’s 2025 bingo card. Even Dana White was compelled to agree with ‘The Eagle’ when the latter had refused to fight if any of his team members were penalized after what happened at UFC 229. And here we had Frontier Airlines kicking him off the plane.

The now-viral video has left many fans questioning why the airlines decided to remove the UFC Hall of Famer. According to the airline, he was not complying with the requests from the crew to confirm whether he would be willing to open the emergency door. The airline also declared that it was just a security protocol and not anything related to racial profiling.

However, this turned into a humorous conversation between Daniel Cormier and Islam Makhachev who giggled while discussing this slipup. DC could not stop laughing while thinking about the situation and it even made Makhachev burst into a chuckle. He asked the lightweight phenom why his mentor was done dirty like that.

Makhachev replied, “But I understand if if they kick you out because of this emergency because you are so big maybe.” This triggered DC as he thought the Russian phenom was insinuating about his weight but rest assured, it all was done in jest. He laughed it off and replied, “Don’t do that don’t be disrespectful. Don’t be disrespectful.” Then they went on to their trajectory of discussing whether Cormier would be able to pull the door or not!

Cormier even expressed how he would have reacted and in true DC manner was playful about it. So, while ‘The Eagle’ chose to take the high road or in this case not take the flight, Cormier’s mischievous discussion added to the hypothetical ‘what if’ in the story. On the other hand, amid this drama, the Hall of Famer stated why he did not move his seat and decided to leave the plane altogether.

Why was Khabib Nurmagomedov asked to leave the plane?

According to Frontier Airlines, the issue arose solely because Khabib did not respond with a straightforward “yes” when asked if he would be willing to open the emergency door in case of an emergency. The incident appears to have been a miscommunication on both sides. If the crew had recognized who he was, they might have handled the situation differently. However, they were strictly following protocol.

Given that English is not Khabib’s first language, it’s possible that a language barrier was a possible reason for the misunderstanding. In a life-or-death emergency, crystal-clear communication is essential. From that perspective, the crew’s decision to ask him to move was understandable.

However, even though Khabib Nurmagomedov obliged politely and got off the plane, he did post about the incident on X. “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,” he posted on X. “What was the base for that, racial, national or other one, I’m not sure.” he persisted.

UFC color commentator Joe Rogan was visibly offended by this and said that ‘people were crazy’. He also gave a hypothetical situation where if he was on that plane he would have said, “Ma’am do you know who that is?” to the flight attendant. Nonetheless what is done is done! What do you think about this episode? Was it done for the basic safety protocol or is there something more than meets the eye?