Khabib Nurmagomedov getting kicked off a Frontier Airlines plane for sitting near the emergency exit and ‘not understanding English’, is leading to a series of never-ending discussions. While most are about profiling and inherent biases, UFC commentator Joe Rogan had a bit of a light-hearted take on the subject. Rogan joked that the flight attendant who asked him to leave the aircraft, probably did so because she thinks Jon Jones is the greatest of all-time, not Khabib.
“Maybe she thinks Jones is the GOAT. She’s like f*** off, I’m a Jones fan… the goat talk between those two,” Rogan said on the JRE podcast.
Comedian Mark Normand, who was present as a guest on this episode of Rogan’s podcast, also added to the laughter by saying that maybe the woman in question was a fan of Conor McGregor. McGregor and Khabib have had a rivalry that has spilled outside the octagon from time to time.
Joe Rogan reacts to Khabib being removed from his flight:
“He was calm and respectful, he obviously speaks English…
Wouldn’t you love to be on that flight and go ‘Ma’am, do you know who that is?’…”
@joerogan #UFC #MMApic.twitter.com/gZnhmHKiRv
— Championship Rounds (@ChampRDS) January 16, 2025
One of his other guests, and former SNL cast member, Shane Gillis even exclaimed that they have let ‘absolute slobs’ like himself sit on the emergency row seat. Earlier, UFC lightweight fighter Michael Chandler had even rage-tweeted about the incident, claiming that he found it weird for people to want someone with perfect English to help them in the case of an emergency when they could be helped by the most physically capable person on the flight.
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. Not only was he the…
— Michael Chandler (@MikeChandlerMMA) January 13, 2025
Chandler also recommended that since the airlines had decided to deboard the MMA ‘GOAT’ for having an accent, they should also test other passengers sitting in the emergency row for physical and mental fitness aptitude tests.
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.” Because I’ve seen some slugs in the exit row…
— Michael Chandler (@MikeChandlerMMA) January 13, 2025
Rogan, meanwhile, told his guests that he wished he were on that plane so he could tell everyone on it about Khabib being the man who was asked to leave.
“Let me tell you who that is”: Rogan
The JRE podcast host initially discussed the matter seriously and seemed rather shocked that the flight staff had deboarded him for absolutely no good reason.
“Some lady came up to Khabib when he was on the flight because he was in the escape row. There is a video of it. It’s crazy. He’s telling her, ‘I can do this’. I understand English, I can speak English. And they kick him off the f*****g plane.
The UFC commentator was insistent that Khabib was willing to open that door and help the flight attendants, understanding English and speaking it decently too.
” He was calm and respectful. He obviously speaks English. And he knew… Yeah, he said, ‘I will assist, I will open that door’. Wouldn’t you love to be on that flight and go, ‘do you know who that is? Let me tell you who that is. Let me Google him real quick.”
The airline has now issued a statement claiming that Khabib didn’t respond to the cabin crew despite being asked about being willing to assist and thus was in violation of FAA requirements.
While Khabib also released a statement asserting that the staffer was rude from the beginning, it doesn’t seem he’s pursuing the matter further at this point.
