Jiri Prochazka reveals who started altercation between Dustin Poirier and Michael Chandler at UFC 276

UFC light heavyweight champion Jiri Prochazka was right next to Dustin Poirier when 'The Diamond' got into a heated altercation with Michael Chandler at UFC 276. 'Denisa' recently provided details about the spat between Poirier and Chandler.

According to Prochazka, he saw Poirier get aggressive and start trash talking with Chandler, who returned the favor. 'Denisa' initially joked about having saved the two but gave credit to UFC officials. In an interview with Helen Yee, he said:

"I was closest, next to Dustin and he started to be aggressive, to talk some trash talks and all this stuff for the Michael. And they start to talk together. Nothing surprised for me but I saved them [laughs]. I just watched that and there was a guy from the UFC and they tried to fix it."

'The Diamond' and 'Iron' were captured on video, almost ready to trade hands while in attendance at UFC 276. The situation thankfully did not escalate further after intervention from security personnel. When asked if Dustin Poirier was the instigator, Prochazka replied in the affirmative and told Helen Yee:

"I think yeah...[shurgs]"

Watch Prochazka's interview with Helen Yee below:

Watch the altercation between Poirier and Chandler below:

---

The beef between Dustin Poirier and Michael Chandler

UFC veteran Chael Sonnen believes the beef between Dustin Poirier and Michael Chandler may have stemmed from 'Iron's' post-fight callout at UFC 274. After scoring a vicious KO win over Tony Ferguson, Chandler called out Conor McGregor and Charles Oliveira in a highly entertaining pro-wrestling-inspired speech.

'The Diamond' has previously questioned his absence from Chandler's post-fight callout.

Sonnen now wonders if Poirier instigated the altercation with Chandler after being omitted from the latter's callout. According to 'The American Gangster', 'Iron' is 'the sweetest guy in the business' aside from his post-fight callouts.

In an interview with Teddy Atlas, Poirier claimed he would be a dangerous opponent for 'Iron'. According to him, Chandler's performances against Ferguson and Charles Oliveira prove that the former Bellator champion could have trouble against harder strikers like himself and Mcgregor.

Watch Poirier's interview with Teddy Atlas below:

Chandler responded to Poirier accusing 'The Diamond' of trying to steal everyone's 'shine' after losing his own.