Was there any indication that Luke was holding back against Desann? I know that he should have been, but I don't recall that even being implied. If anything, it seems that scene was done specifically to make Desann look more threatening, thus making Kyle look good when he beats him.
Frankly, I don't see Malgus doing better than Desann against that version of Luke. Desann actually managed to escape Luke.
Could see it going either way.