Chance upon confrontation (9)
I believe the answer is:
encounter
I believe this clue is a double definition.
'chance upon' is the first definition.
(synonyms)
'confrontation' is the second definition.
(synonyms)
(Other definitions for encounter that I've seen before include "battle" , "Come upon, meet" , "Bump into" , "Meet by chance or enexpectedly" , "tackle" .)