User blog comment:Legionaire22/Angron VS Leman/@comment-3341288-20110716064043/@comment-10514705-20110716135746

Actually, Gladiators were much better equipped and trained than you think. Latest research seems to indicate the they were treated as sporting heroes and that it was bad for business to let them die. A well trained and armed gladiator, in a one on one fight with a Viking soldier, would probably win.