Watch: Cormier, Jake Paul separated after UFC 261 confrontation

Daniel Cormier and Jake Paul had to be separated by security after running into each other at UFC 261.

Cormier, a former UFC two-division champion, served as a color commentator at Saturday's event, while Paul, a YouTuber-turned-boxer, was there as a spectator.

Cormier left the cageside booth before the start of the main card to confront Paul, who was sitting in the front row with NFL wide receiver Antonio Brown, according to MMA Junkie's Simon Samano.

The full-capacity crowd at VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena in Jacksonville broke out into a "F--- Jake Paul" chant during the event.

Before the confrontation, Cormier said on the broadcast he'd seen Paul arrive at the event and threatened to "smack" the 24-year-old boxer.

"I just saw Jake Paul," Cormier said. "I pointed at him and said, 'Don't play with me,' because I'll smack him in the face."

Later that evening, Paul explained in a video posted to SportsCenter's Instagram account what happened.

"Cormier comes up to me, starts chirping. ... This guy goes, 'Keep my name out (your) mouth. Keep my name out (your) mouth,'" Paul said of his interaction with the former UFC fighter. "I said, 'Wait a minute, Daniel. You're putting (my) name in (your) mouth first. You put (my) name in (your) mouth first. You talked about me on your little commentator podcast with Ariel (Helwani). So don't come over here talking about how I talked about you.'

"I said, 'Let's sign the contract. Let's run a fight. I'm not scared of you, DC. You're short.' I'm looking at this guy like he's short."

Cormier had a harsh reaction to Paul's knockout win over Ben Askren last weekend, saying Paul and his team are "going to get taught a lesson." Paul called Cormier "fat boy" and challenged him to a fight, while "DC" later said the internet personality wouldn't be successful against a boxer with a better skill set than his first three opponents.