User blog comment:B214/Volume 23 discussion blog/@comment-2602:306:8075:390:ACFE:42D7:3070:DAE5-20170718181505/@comment-10330822-20170722194507

I wouldn't be surprised if Kiba fights and loses to Arthur in that volume, and then the rematch comes when Vali faces off against Issei as Arthur promised.

Kiba, I feel, is potentially more dangerous than Vasco, even in his younger state. But probably not in the match upcoming.

Kiba is still anticipated to fused his Sacred Gears together. Which would be extremely broken. His Drag Troopers would probably be able to form their own holy demonic swords, absorbing holy energy for demon energy and demon energy for holy energy. This would be very bad for Issei, who is a demon that uses Ascalon, or an enemy that primarily relies on holy weapons, i.e. Arthur.

It means it would weaken Arthur's Caliburn and give him a small army he'd have to fight as well. In addition, Kiba garbs himself in Drag Troop armor and uses his demonic swords like Gram. In some series, demon swords can be "overpowered" by the user if their demonic energy/will is strong enough. I would be surprised if Kiba eventually completely subjugates Gram and the other swords where they no longer need to be fed energy because they "respect" Kiba.

Kiba may not have these skills in the match, but I feel they are definitely something he could manifest in the next couple of volumes. So he might lose to Arthur, and then get a rematch later on.

Now that I think about it, Sieg isn't the only one is he? Kiba has had pretty consistent enemies through out the series. He constantly was facing Freed until he finally killed him in Volume 6, then, shortly after, Sieg is basically introduced to take his place. Arthur may take Seig's place now as a multi-volume rival.