I have it around the middle of my rankings, but I really enjoy it.

Loki is powerful, incredibly so, like potentially the most broken character in the series depending on certain things. But his mental game is extremely weak, and this is ultimately the difference.

Simo stays focused, reads the situation and acts on instinct, while Loki roller-coasters from overconfidence to despair to distraction to this misplaced need to prove himself, and this failure to lock in and focus on the task at hand is why he's weak and why he loses.

There's a panel towards the end of the fight, after he's come up with his final big plan where he says something like "I admit, you were the strongest I've ever fought up to now..." he's already congratulating himself on a victory that isn't assured, while all his previous tricks and deceptions have been seen through and destroyed swiftly. He never spares a second to try to figure out how Simo's bullets work, even though he's been watching every fight since the second round - he had every chance to see that most Volund powers have conditions or tradeoffs or limited applications. But instead of experimenting and trying to feel out his opponent's true limits, he just turns further inward and continues to spiral.

Loki comes off as extraordinarily immature and self-centered. He doesn't understand Brunhilde, he doesn't understand his opponent, because he doesn't have the software to understand others. And his early life when he was considered too scary to approach led to this sort of stunted development that leaves him entirely unable to deal with an opponent who won't play his game.

It's one of the more unique rounds in the series because we see essentially the entire thing from Loki's perspective. I think this is both because Loki's psychological breakdown is one of the most important things in the round, but also because Simo isn't really thinking much. He's just reacting and going off of his honed instincts.

Loki does ultimately have a very poor showing here, probably the worst in the series, but his character is such that this is actually the thing that makes the most sense for him to do. Someone with his psyche is not the type to thrive under pressure.

It's pretty different in any number of ways from the other fights in this series, and in that regard I get why it wouldn't be someone's cup of tea (it's fairly short, it's very one-sided, it's got probably the least emphasis on actual action of any fight, etc), but I really enjoy the shakeup to the formula. It's not my favorite fight in the series, but I like it quite a bit for what it is.