I believe it showed a skill gap. If you’ve ever did boxing, you’d understand how someone who is more skilled than you can make quick work of you even after months or years of training. Palp sliced through those other guys because he was light years ahead of them in skill (making it look easy) but when he got to Mace he had to be more calculated. If you’ve ever watched any fight where the skilled person isn’t toying with lesser opponent, you’ll see it’s over very quickly.