Frontier Airlines firmly believes they were NOT wrong in creating the UFC legend Khabib Nurmagomedov walked off a flight this weekend … claiming the 29-0 fighter ignored a flight attendant's instructions before takeoff.
But, TMZ Sports I just spoke to someone close to Khabib who says that's just wrong.
First, Frontier's side of things. The airline says Khabib, who was sitting in an emergency exit row, failed to indicate that he was ready and able to assist in an emergency.
“Mr. Nurmagomedov did not respond despite repeated attempts, resulting in his failure to comply with FAA requirements,” Frontier told us in a statement.
Instead of throwing him off the plane, the flight attendant gave the retired fighter pilot two options: change seats or leave the plane.
The airline also added that video circulating on social media failed to capture this part of the incident.
TikTok / @viceplayer28
Frontier also clarified that “the decision to exit the customer is in no way related to his or her ethnicity.”
We contacted Khabib's manager, Ali Abdelazizwho told us Frontier's version of the story was fiction, adding that his client insisted he had made it clear he was fully capable of helping if things went wrong.
“The lady who comes to me with questions was very rude from the beginning, even though I speak very good English and can understand everything and agreed to help, she still insists on moving me from my seat. What was the reason for it, racist.” “Whether national or otherwise, I'm not sure,” Nurmagomedov explained on Sunday.
“But after two minutes of conversation, she called security and I was released from that plane. After an hour and a half, I boarded another airline's plane and flew to my destination. I did my best to remain calm and respectful, as you can see in the video. “But these crew members could do better next time and just be nice to the customers.”
Despite the awkward situation, we're told Khabib wants to move on… and is focused on UFC 311 on Saturday.