The two are key fighters in Class 1-A, but Bakugo walked out the victor against Todoroki during the Sports Festival. Why did Todoroki lose to Bakugo?
Todoroki had to lose to Bakugo because he wasn’t ready to use his left side. He was still emotional over the fight against Deku, and he needed time to think before using his left side regularly.
He ended up letting Bakugo win the fight by snuffing out his own flames instead of protecting himself.
Todoroki loses against Bakugo
In chapter #43, Bakugo and Todoroki square off in the final match of the Sports Festival.
The crowd notices that Todoroki’s heart doesn’t seem to be in the fight, like it was against Deku. He puts up a protective ice barrier to ward Bakugo off and not face him up close.
Bakugo becomes increasingly frustrated as the fight goes on. He even goes out of his way to intentionally be caught by Todoroki’s left hand in order to test if he’d use it. After Todoroki resisted using the fire side of his quirk, Bakugo became even more upset.
“I’m sorry, Bakugo. Since I fought Midoriya, I just don’t know what I should do. Whether or not what I’m doing is right. I’m not sure about anything anymore.”
Todoroki to himself | Chapter #43
There was a spark of motivation from the crowd that led Todokori to use his fire quirk. Before he sets it off to protect himself from Bakugo’s blast, he remembers his parents’ faces and snuffs his own flames. Bakugo won the final round.
Todoroki talks to All Might
In chapter #44, All Might is passing out medals to the top 3 winners of the Sports Festival 1-1 competition. He says Todoroki held back by not using his left side in the final match.
Todoroki says the reason for not using his full strength was because of his match with Midoriya. “I think I’ve lost my way,” Todoroki said. “I’ve always wanted to become a hero like you, but it’s not like I can just forget and get over things.”
He says that’s not enough, and there’s still something important that he has to settle first. Todoroki’s mom is in the hospital because of Endeavor, and he hates his Dad for tearing their family apart.
So that’s the answer. Todorki had to lose to Bakugo because he was still thinking of his match with Deku. He didn’t want to use his left side against Todoroki out of frustration with his parents.