Laura Sanko recently addressed the airplane incident involving Khabib Nurmagomedov and gave her unfiltered reaction to Frontier Airlines deboarding the former UFC lightweight champion.
For context, Nurmagomedov was recently onboard a Frontier Airlines flight from Las Vegas to San Francisco when he was removed from the plane after a verbal fracas. The issue stemmed from the MMA icon allegedly not understanding the responsibilities of a passenger seated in an emergency exit row. A video of the incident was captured by a fellow passenger, which soon went viral on social media.
In an X post, Sanko addressed the incident and wrote:
"I actually can’t imagine someone I’d want MORE to be in charge of throwing a door open and helping in an emergency than @TeamKhabib."
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Soon after the incident, Nurmagomedov took to social media to issue a statement and explained his side of the story. He claimed that the staff member was rude from the beginning of their conversation. In an X post, he wrote:
"First of all, I need to clarify that it was @FlyFrontier [and] not AlaskaAir. 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. What was the base for that, racial, national or other one, I'm not sure."
He continued:
"But after 2 minutes of conversation, she called security, and I was deplaned from this aircraft; after 1.5 hours, I boarded another airline and left for my destination. I did my best to stay calm and respectful, as you can see in the video."
Frontier Airlines issues statement regarding Khabib Nurmagomedov incident
After being called out on social media, Frontier Airlines issued a public statement addressing Khabib Nurmagomedov's claims, dismissing any racial angle to what transpired. The company explained that Nurmagomedov violated specific FAA rules and that deboarding the MMA icon was within their legal purview.
In a statement delivered to MMA Fighting, the airline detailed their side of the story and wrote:
"On Jan. 11, 2025, as flight 4401 from Las Vegas to San Francisco was preparing for departure, a flight attendant initiated the customary briefing for exit row passengers. Customer Khabib Nurmagomedov, who was seated in an exit row, was asked multiple times if he was willing and able to assist in the event of an emergency. According to the flight attendant, Mr. Nurmagomedov did not respond, despite repeated attempts, which placed him in non-compliance with FAA requirements..."
They continued:
"As a result of the customer’s initial unresponsiveness and repeated declinations of a seat change, he was asked to deplane per airline and FAA policy. The decision to deplane the customer was in no way related to his ethnicity, and we have refunded him and his traveling companions for their flights.” [H/t: MMA Fighting]