User blog comment:IamJakuhoRaikoben/Chapter 458: Morning Star, Review./@comment-153.91.251.105-20151026034104/@comment-7418318-20151026081853

"He lost due to circumstances."

That and his own arrogance. If he'd just finished off Erza, instead of trying to have her admit defeat...

Anyway, I think it's actually good the battle didn't last too long. Sure mashiam could have let Ajeel play around with her more... which would have made him seem dumb (or even dumber depending on your point of view).

If he and Erza had a serious fight for too long, it would have made Ajeel seem less threatening in my eyes. Like this is seems like he quite esaily overpowered Erza (barring a little surprise in the middle) making him quite a fearful foe. A foe that not even the mighty Titania could hold out for long against!