Coach: 'Very stupid' security guard asked for picture with Khabib Nurmagomedov after viral removal from plane

Yesterday at 20:00

Khabib Nurmagomedov's longtime coach is shedding new light on the viral plane incident that saw Nurmagomedov removed from a flight in January.

In the viral clip, Nurmagomedov — who is sitting in an exit row — is being asked to change seats. The former UFC lightweight champ refused, and the flight attendant went on to tell him that a supervisor can be called to escort him off the plane. Nurmagomedov then appears to leave of his own volition.

Javier Mendes, appearing on the Hikmat Wehbi Podcast, was asked about the incident.

"So they asked if he was able to assist and I guess the stewardess did not clearly understand what he said," Mendes said. "But he said he's able to do it and… now she's irritated because he didn't respond the way she wanted him to respond, I guess. She got mad. She wanted him off the plane. She wanted him to move and get off the plane.

"She wasn't listening to him, none of them were listening to him. So they did very wrong in what they did to him."

Mendes continued with the story of Nurmagomedov's removal from the plane, and says that one of the security guards actually really got Nurmagomedov upset at the tail end of the incident.

"So basically what happened [is that] they escorted him out and he goes, 'I just need you guys to explain to me why, I'm capable of doing this,'" Mendes explained. "And, they said no, you either change seats or you're off the plane. Then after that, they just wanted him off the plane.

"And the one thing that Khabib said that really irritated him, and the whole thing was a fiasco, but what irritated the most was the security guard was doing what he was supposed to do, kicking him out, not understanding, not even listening to Khabib. … So he didn't listen to Khabib at all, but at the very end, the security guard wanted a picture with him. They knew who he was. They're stupid. They're very stupid, and they deserve what they get. So Khabib, now he's irritated because, 'You know who I am, so you're treating me like this.'"

After the incident, Nurmagomedov released a statement in regards to the "very rude" flight attendant, and added that he, essentially, wasn't sure if he was being racially profiled, or if his nationality had to do with the way he was treated.

Mendes, however, believes there is no doubt what happened that day.

"So they racial profiled him," Mendes said. "I don't care what anybody says. They racial profiled him. They knew who he was. … To me, that was wrong."