Just a little Sauron info for those who may not know a lot of the Middle Earth backstory. I think his ability to raise armies and create a fortress is pretty clear just from LOTR. But in terms of his personal power:
Sauron is one of the Maiar, a race of divine spirits right below the "gods," or Valar. The Maiar are essentially at the level of angels, and thus pretty powerful. He was the chief lieutenant of Morgoth, who was the chief evil Vala. Tolkien was a pretty serious Catholic, so you can think of Morgoth as Satan and Sauron as his chief archangel, in terms of power.
According to Tolkien, Sauron was of a "far higher order" than later Maiar like Gandalf (who was able to defeat a Balrog) or Saruman. He was later known as the Necromancer, or black magician. He was a master of illusions and shapeshifting. He was highly knowledgeable about magic, able to create his own magic ring as well as those for the men and dwarves, and taught the elves how to make theirs. He was able to be killed, but also turned to a spirit when that happened. He was able to influence minds. His body can burn like fire. The Eye of Sauron can make people cower and fall to the ground.
His Ring increases the life span. It can help the wearer read minds. It can create a powerful aura of fear. Most importantly, it can increase all the natural powers of the wearer. Its other forms of potential are ambiguous, but Galadriel and Galdalf both refused to wear it, saying that they would try use its powers to do great good but would eventually succumb to its evil nature. The question of how they would use its powers to do good is unclear, but it may have had the power to affect reality to some degree, and certainly minds. Again, it is possible for Sauron to be beaten while wearing it, it happened multiple times.
In comparison, the elvish rings could protect an area from evil (such as Galadriel created in Lothlorien) and generally create an aura of beauty in an area, as well as inspire good and hope. So in general perhaps the One Ring can be seen as the opposite of this, and generally helps corrupt an area and create an aura of fear. (The dwarf rings helped create their riches, and the human rings are more unclear; they created longer lives and increased their owners' powers somehow).
So basically if he has a possibility of winning one-on-one, its through the power of fear and mind control and possession.
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