👁️Sauron to 🧙Gandalf...or something, i dunno...make sumthin better! :p

[Gildor]

Elendil and Gil-Galad managed to defeat Sauron when he had the One Ring, though it cost them both their lives.

I think Gandalf the White expending all of his energy in a desperate struggle would also have a chance of beating Sauron.

 

[Khazad]

I just cannot understand how you decided Gandalf would surely lose. He looked like a old man, but he had lots of inner strenght that he seldomly showed. Only in the film Sauron was shown as a mighty warrior and we all know that we can forget that picture. Gandalf is as much a warrior as Sauron ever could be, at least I think so. During the end of second age Sauron only came out from is fortress after the Last Alliance troops forced him to do so. Sauron surely was not a warrior. Gandalf would have had a even chance to defeat him.

 

[Celebthôl]

Yes it's true Gandalf was a good warrior, but Tolkien even states that Sauron is the most powerful being on Middle Earth, thats reason enough.

 

[Red Istar]

I am sure that not even Gandalf the White would have been able to face all the Nine at the same time.

Gandalf the Grey did, on Weathertop!

 

[Thráin II]

There are few even in Rivendell that can ride openly against the Nine; but such as there were, Elrond sent out north, west, and south.

The Fellowship of the Ring, Chapter 12, "Flight to the Ford"

Surely Gandalf is one of the few in Rinvendell who can ride openly against the Nine, and even if he is not considered as belonging to Rivendell he is more powerful than most in Rivendell.

By "ride openly" I assume he doesn't mean "race" but "fight" since Glorfindel was sent out to come between Aragorn and his companions and the Nine, which would have involved a bit of fighting at the worst.

So I think we can safely say that Gandalf (even the Grey) would have fared well against the Nazgul, all Nine of the together.

As for him vs. Sauron, I read somewhere (I don't recall where) about Sauron's might before the Ring, without the Ring and with the Ring and I recall it being said that basically no one in Middle Earth could alone have defeated him, thus we can safely conclude that Gandalf would have been defeated.

How long it would have lasted depends on how you imagine the fight. Sauron, contrary to what the movies suggest, does have a physical form. He is described in the foreword to FotR I think, again, I'm not sure. Anyway, Tolkien says he has the shape of a man, yet somewhat bigger, and then some comments about him being dark and scary.

The fight in itself, I think, would have been something along the lines of Gandalf vs Saruman (when the latter posses Theoden) just with more violence.

It would have involved Glamdring though I don't think the blade would have cut the mustard, and it would have involved will power and spells also, all in which Sauron was the greater.

The duration, thus, I think would have been short, no longer than two-five minutes (two minutes is a LONG TIME, try holding your breath for two minutes to see how long it is).


HOWEVER, I find this particular scenario to be quite useless since such a thing would not have happened ever in ME.

Interesting to imagine the fight though, nice topic.

 

[Thorondor_]

If I were to place my bet, I would go with Gandalf. Even though he says he is less powerfull than Sauron, he most likely has a special connection with the "Authority" that sent him back (Eru). If it would be a simple fight, perhaps Eru wouldn't strenghthen Gandalf during the battle, but if very much would depend on this fight - fate of the world - Eru could mess Sauron's plans for sure. If I may quote from the bible: "a thousands will fall to your right, and ten thousands shall perish before you, for you have put your faith solely on God". Always liked that psalm.