Originally posted by Nephthys
Since when was that ever in question? Of course Maul can compete with Mace for a while. Sora Bulq could, obviously Maul can.
Well it was in question for some people because Mace beat Sidious. And there's no way Maul could take on Sidious and a Jedi Council member simultaneously even for a few seconds. In fact the thought of that is laughable.
That's why I was asking Tempest if he found that strange.
For me it's just good to have that confirmation that not being capable of competing with Sidious doesn't mean your still not really powerful and capable of competing with the next tier down.
It's also good to have confirmation that Mace is a tier below Sidious (between this and his fight against Mother Talzin who will presumably get battered by Sidious).
Honestly, I'm not at all surprised. It's been clear for years that neither the films nor the EU adhere to a strict power chart when it comes to duels. It's a very loose hierarchy that can be bent or broken by the Rule of Cool. Occasionally you have a fairly concrete power structure (cf. Filoni's remarks on either Yoda or Sidious where he emphasizes that pretty much everyone else can't compete with them), but for the most part, the writers don't really give such things ample consideration. Barriss vs. Anakin is a particularly egregious example that springs to mind. Or Anakin vs. Hondo in season 2. Or Dooku vs. Anakin anytime.