Sean Strickland makes controversial counterargument about Khabib Nurmagomedov getting kicked out of plane: "You're being a cheap mother****er"

Sean Strickland has made a controversial counterargument regarding Khabib Nurmagomedov's removal from an airplane, which was a much-discussed incident that garnered worldwide attention earlier this year. America's Strickland alluded to Nurmagomedov's purported wealth and labeled him as "cheap," in addition to further criticizing the retired MMA great.

As reported by CNN, Frontier Airlines indicated that they'd deplaned Nurmagomedov from flight 4401, which was headed from Las Vegas to San Francisco on Jan. 11, 2025.

They cited the ex-UFC lightweight champion's allegedly unresponsive demeanor during the routine exit-row seating instructions and subsequent refusal to change to another seat as reasons for his removal.

Nurmagomedov later asserted that a flight attendant was "very rude." He further speculated whether his race and/or nationality potentially played a role in the deplaning.

UFC CEO and president Dana White and many other MMA personalities lent their support to Khabib Nurmagomedov. Meanwhile, during a recent interview with Full Violence, Sean Strickland was asked whether he'd have similarly removed Nurmagomedov from the plane. Strickland responded by lambasting the Dagestani fighter.

Often accused of making discriminatory assertions about Islam and Muslims, Strickland referenced the 9/11 attacks and stated:

"I don't even know how the f**k Khabib is allowed to get on a plane, my dawg. That man probably goes through f**king TSA, going tick, tick, tick. I thought 9/11 ended this sh**, dude."

Moreover, Sean Strickland highlighted that Khabib Nurmagomedov is significantly wealthier than him and shouldn't be flying on the aforementioned airline. He claimed that Nurmagomedov's opting for that airline made him (Strickland) like him even more. 'Tarzan' also alluded to 'The Eagle' being a devout Muslim.

Nurmagomedov's supporters often cite that his religious beliefs entail avoiding unnecessary physical contact with women and abstaining from pork and/or other Haram (religiously forbidden) foods/food products.

Counterarguing that Nurmagomedov's beliefs disqualified him from being capable of assisting others during a potential on-flight emergency, Strickland said:

"[You] probably have 10 million dollars, and you're being a cheap mother****er on a plane? Here's the thing, you know, I mean, what's Khabib going to do if a woman needs assistance off the f**king plane, bro? He can't f**king touch her. He's going to f**king -- he's going to [*censored] her? Or like, what if someone's f**king eating a pork chop next to him, dawg? He's not qualified."

He added:

"He ain't qualified to assist mother****ers getting off a plane, dude. You can't touch women, can't eat f**king pork chops? My dawg, get in the back of the f**king plane, and let someone qualified handle this sh**."

Watch Sean Strickland's assessment below (2:45):

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Sean Strickland's remarks regarding Khabib Nurmagomedov's wife, personal life

Sean Strickland faces UFC middleweight champion Dricus du Plessis in a rematch for the championship at UFC 312 (Feb. 9, 2025; local time in Australia). Heading into the fight, Strickland has once again elicited criticism from certain quarters, given his aforementioned comments about Khabib Nurmagomedov and the latter's religion and culture.

Nevertheless, this isn't the first time Strickland has made polarizing personal comments concerning Nurmagomedov. In 2022, the American made multiple NSFW posts on X about the Dagestani fighter's relationship with his wife. One post read:

"You guys ever wonder how khabib has s*x??? F**k guarantee she fakes it... Actually no I bet it's completely silent and when he finishes he just walks away... lmao!!!"