User blog comment:Jopjopjop/Volume 18 Spoilers/@comment-99.170.116.67-20150118015721/@comment-1359322-20150118071826

Well Ise is undoubtedly more powerful than Riser is pure strength and combat abilities, but like Sun Wukong, Ise himself, Cao Cao and Sona has showed, real fights require more than just brute strength. Ise and Vali still can't hit Sun Wukong despite being stronger than him in raw strength, Ise beat Riser despite being weaker than him on all categories by forming a plan, Cao Cao overpowered the entire Gremory + Vali team solely with just his wits and technique, and Sona managed to corner the Gremory despite having weaker member through her strategy.

So in the end, being stronger or weaker doesn't really result in being the winner or loser in a real battle.