Michael Chandler slams airline for removing Khabib Nurmagomedov from flight

Michael Chandler spent years chasing a potential fight against Khabib Nurmagomedov, but now he’s defending the former UFC lightweight champion after he was removed from a flight over a dispute about him sitting in an exit row.

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

Chandler took to social media to slam the airline — later identified as Frontier Airlines — for mistreating Nurmagomedov, especially over a perceived language barrier.

“Can you imagine, an emergency happens on your plane and you would prefer a ‘perfect’ speaking human instead of one of the greatest athletes of all time because you’re ‘uncomfortable’ with his ability to speak English (which is very good, btw) - this is bizarre,” 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 sitting in the exit row is being able to say the word ‘yes.’”

After the incident was made public, Nurmagomedov released his own statement addressing the altercation while saying “I did my best to stay calm and respectful as you can see on the video, but those crew members could do better next time and just be nice with clients.”

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

For his part, Chandler took things one step further and blasted the current “qualifications” required to sit in an exit row seat, which states a passenger must have the physical capabilities to help other passengers in an emergency, they must understand instructions and the passenger has to be an adult.

“If you’re going to kick our GOAT off the plane for a little accent, please start making passengers do a physical and mental fitness aptitude test before you let them sit in the exit row after uttering a one word, one syllable ‘yes,’” Chandler said. “Because I’ve seen some slugs in the exit row on flights.”

The video sparked plenty of outrage beyond Chandler’s complaints.

The Council on American-Islamic Relations issued a statement of its own condemning the actions of the airline while asking for an investigation and questioned if “religious or racial profiling played a role in his treatment.”