User blog comment:IamThorn/Yang vs Toph, Who Would Win?/@comment-5041507-20141021211848/@comment-11188061-20141022045532

The point is that Yang was out of the fight for the entire period.

It's debatable whether with a proper weapon, Nora could strike a blow equal or more powerful (I'm leaning towads the latter) than what the Atlesian Paladin is capable of, but Yang is not invincible, nor is she a punching bag who can absorb every hit without trouble. At that point of time, Yang still would've lost going up against the Atlesian Paladin without an arm, as we can see how easily the machine outranges her. Without Team RWBY's support, Roman could've easily just repeat the same tactic over and over again until Yang eventually succumbs to her injuries, without ever being able to touch Roman again.

Yang may be a monster in melee, but she's utterly useless if you never let her get close. One is that you harass her at long range until she falls, and the other is to do what Nora did - take her out completely from the battle by blowing her off to space. It does not matter whether Yang herself is still capable of fighting, the point is to never give her the chance to contribute anything in the battlefield.