In a one-on-one fade, I'm always going with the male lion over the tiger. Yeah, the tiger is bigger, but not by enough to make much of a difference. I know male lions get dissed for not doing most of the hunting, but the reality is they're enforcers (and they still help when killing larger game like buffalo or giraffe). Their role is to protect the pride from rival predators, or other wandering male lions that would have killed the cubs and ran through all the females otherwise.