Poodles are one of the breeds very popular with puppy mills. Poorly bred and poorly handled when young results in a very poorly behaving dog.
We had an AKC registered poodle given to us. Worst dog I ever had. I could easily see a poodle starting the confrontation.
Yes, poodles can be aggressive, especially when poorly trained. Unfortunately, too many dog owners of smaller dog breeds don’t take dog training as seriously, dismissing aggressive/alpha behavior from their dogs as “cute” or “precious”.