There was story going around (later debunked) that Conor McGregor was homeless for a while until his fiancee Dee Devlin supported him. Well, he wasn’t exactly homeless, but he was living on welfare checks before his UFC debut and his girlfriend supported his training and nutrition a lot. The story may have been equally and similarly difficult for his nemesis Khabib Nurmagomedov who actually had trouble finding a place to stay, especially since he moved to the US for training. His longtime coach Javier Mendez once recalled how ‘The Eagle’ had to vacate a place just eight hours after he moved in there!

In a resurfaced video of a conversation with the Red Corner MMA from 2023, Mendez revealed that Khabib was actually the first Russian to ever come to the AKA gym. However, situated in San Jose, California, getting a place to stay became a huge hurdle for the fighters. The expensive housing in the locality even forced Nurmagomedov to stay in a room with three other people. But there were also stories of people letting fighters like Nurmagomedov stay at their apartments, and one of them was Carolyn Webster. However, she couldn’t let the Russian star stay at her place for more than a mere 8 hours. 

Recalling the incident, the AKA coach said, “I asked Carolyn if she can help me with Khabib and the team and she said, ‘Yes no problem.’ After about 8 hours or so later she calls me, ‘Jav, I hate to ask but-’ she goes, ‘Is it possible you can ask Khabib and them to not stay in my place? I am so sorry.’ I go, ‘Why what happened?’ She goes well, she has inside dog little dogs right. Well the first thing Khabib did is took the dogs and put them outside. They’re not outside dogs then they put all their gear in the front of the lawn on a tree to dry, the wraps and everything.” 

Well, Nurmagomedov faced a cultural shock right there. In the USA, things were a bit different. People let their dogs stay inside their homes. But in Russia, at least in Nurmagomedov’s locality, dogs weren’t allowed inside the houses. And putting the gear out on a tree to dry further worsened the situation. The homeowner claimed that the neighbors were complaining about it. Mendez had no choice but to ask Nurmagomedov to vacate the place. But that seemed like a boon for the former UFC champion. According to Mendez, ‘The Eagle’ said, “No, it’s okay coach. I did not feel comfortable there anyways. Too many bad things.” 

Eventually, another friend of Mendez’s, Tony Castro, took Khabib in, although Castro lived a bit far away. But we know that you’re thinking of something else now. Khabib getting kicked out all those years ago must have reminded you of the more recent incident.

Khabib Nurmagomedov’s troubles followed him to 2025, too. Earlier in January, before UFC 311, Nurmagomedov was kicked out of a Frontier Airlines flight. Needless to say, the incident caused the majority of the fighting community to lash out at the airlines. But let’s refresh our memories and take a look at what happened between Nurmagomedov and Frontier Airlines. 

Why was Khabib Nurmagomedov kicked out of Frontier Airlines?

The incident happened when Nurmagomedov boarded a flight from Las Vegas to San Francisco. The Russian was seated at the emergency exit, with a blue hoodie pulled on. As per protocol, the flight attendant asked ‘The Eagle’ if he was willing to help in case of an emergency. However, the former champ seemed to have trouble understanding her words initially. But soon, he agreed to help and uttered a yes. But the flight attendant wasn’t happy with the response. She asked Nurmagomedov to give up his seat and exchange it for another spot with the same legroom. But ‘The Eagle’ didn’t want the disrespect. And the situation escalated. 

Soon, the attendant’s manager came in and said, “Okay so what we’re gonna do is we either gonna have you switch your seats, cause my flight attendants are not allowing you to sit in the exit row or you’re gonna have to get off this plane.” But Nurmagomedov knew that it wasn’t fair to him. Even his co-passengers stood up to defend the former fighter. The Russian said, “It’s not fair. When I was in check-in, they asked me do I know English… and I say yes. Then why you guys do this?”

But Frontier Airlines considered their attendant’s judgment. Nurmagomedov was given the ultimate choice of either exchanging his seat or getting on a different plane. ‘The Eagle’ chose to vacate his seat and leave the plane. Thankfully, he found another flight to his destination. But the incident reeled in a boatload of backlash for the airline company. 

What do you think of the instances when Nurmagomedov was kicked out? Do you think anyone would kick him out of their apartment now that he’s a huge star? Let us know what you think in the comments down below.