This is pretty much where I'm at on this one - Lauren's entire life was about training to be the Red Ranger. Scott's okay, but he never seemed like on of the more powerful or skilled Reds - although part of that is probably the fact that Dillon, Ziggy, and Summer got way more screentime than he did.

You guys forget that this isn't a fight. This is to determine who the best Red is for the Ultimate team. While Reds are strong, Red is also the leader. In my book, being the leader means nothing if you can't lead. For an Ultimate team, Red must have great leadship abilities. Lauren isn't much of a leader. Scott isn't the best leader, but he's at least a good one. Scott wins this because he is the more ideal leader and that's what an Ultimate Power Rangers team needs for a Red.

Lauren was meant to be more of a savior. The other Rangers were meant to protect her. Lauren performed considerably well as a leader given the circumstances surrounding her team. Furthermore, Lauren is the best Red Ranger we have gotten in years. Just about every Red Ranger before her was an idiot. True, Scott was an exception, but again—Lauren saved the Samurai saga. Scott couldn't even do that.

And this is precisely why I'm going for Scott. Lauren is a good Ranger, but living years in isolation means she doesn't have solid team experience. Scott, for his occasional bouts of arrogance, is a really fine leader with intense determination. Lauren can't lead a team as well as Jayden, that's why she conceded to him.

Lauren may have more firepower and fighting skill, but its debatable if she is that capable in applying those on the battlefield considering her lesser experience in actual combat situations.

It is debatable if Lauren saving the Samurai saga is really a big deal. It wasn't a terrific show to begin with. Some could even argue that Scott did decently well in the Samurai "movie" despite being constricted to an in-suit appearance and not being a main character of his own show in the first place. Being a good character on a sub-par show is not as impressive as being a good character on a great show.

Finally consider the fact that Lauren failed in her mission while Scott did not.

Scott all the way. He proved himself to be a true leader when the Power Rangers were facing overwhelming odds.

Lauren trained all her life, yet when what she trained for turned out to achieve nothing the day was saved by Jayden, not her. Plus she never really proved to have very good leader qualities over her team.

If by saved you mean "made everyone look better because she was so bland", then yes I agree with you.

Yes it is.

Considering what Kimberly Crossman had to work with, Lauren was a catalyst for the change in quality.

Furthermore, Lauren has the larger Zord.

We're comparing Zords? :lol How can we tell if the Lion FoldingZord is bigger than the Eagle Racer? They should be both about the same size. In fact, there might be evidence of the Eagle Racer being slightly larger due to it forming part of a three-piece Megazord vs the Lion FoldingZord which forms part of a five-piece Megazord.

Zords don't factor into this, it's just a melee one-on-one with all available non-giant-robot weapons and modes.

would lauren have access to the red shogun battleizer and any other disks jayden had?