Michael Chandler slams airline for kicking Khabib Nurmagomedov off flight

Michael Chandler spent years researching a potential fight against Khabib Nurmagomedov, but he is now defending the former UFC lightweight champion after he was kicked off a flight over an argument involving him sitting in an output row.

The controversy began after a video surfaced showing a passenger arguing with Nurmagomedov over his ability to speak English while sitting in the exit row. Although Nurmagomedov explained “I know the language…I know how to help people,” the flight attendant insisted he move the seats while adding that the airline was “not comfortable with you sit in the exit row.”

Chandler took to social media to criticize the airline – later identified as Frontier Airlines – for mistreating Nurmagomedov, including over a perceived language barrier.

“Can you imagine there was an emergency on your plane and you would rather have a human who spoke ‘perfectly’ than one of the greatest athletes of all time because you were ‘uncomfortable’? with his ability to speak English (which is very good, btw) – it’s weird,” Chandler wrote on Twitter.

“Not only was he the most physically capable human being on the plane, but I’m pretty sure the only qualification to sit in the exit row is being able to say the word ‘yes’.”

After the incident was made public, Nurmagomedov released his own statement regarding the altercation saying, “I tried my best to remain calm and respectful as you can see in the video, but these members of crew could do better next time and just be nice to the customers. .”

To date, Frontier Airlines has not publicly addressed the situation.

For his part, Chandler went further and blasted the current “qualifications” required to sit in an exit row seat, under which a passenger must have the physical abilities to help other passengers in the event of an emergency. emergency, he must understand the instructions and the behavior of the passenger. must be an adult.

“If you want to kick our GOAT off the plane for a little accent, start by giving passengers a physical and mental fitness test before letting them sit in the exit row after saying one word, one syllable ‘Yes,'” Chandler said. “Because I saw slugs in the exit row of flights.”

The video sparked a lot of outrage beyond Chandler’s complaints.

The Council on American-Islamic Relations issued its own statement condemning the airline’s actions while calling for an investigation and questioning whether “religious or racial profiling played a role in its treatment.”