A fire-breathing, flying, armored mythological apex predator vs a big cat. Not competitive.
The dragon has flight, fire breath, diamond-hard scales, and massive size. The lion has claws and courage. This is a mythological being against a real-world animal โ the power tiers don't intersect.
Fire breath alone ends this before the lion gets close. Flight makes the lion's ground-based attacks irrelevant. Dragon scales resist anything the lion can throw.
The lion is brave. That's the extent of the argument.
The dragon wins instantly. Mythological apex predators exist at a fundamentally different power tier than real animals.
Dragon (European) also fights
African Lion also fights