The longer sequence, with the extended lightsaber duel continuing on the ramp, would have certainly made a far stronger debut for Darth Maul. It would also make more sense for Qui-Gon to struggle escaping Maul; at this point in the Star Wars timeline, the Jedi believed the Sith extinct since the days of Darth Bane, when the Rule of Two was established and the Sith essentially reinvented
Despite Kenobi cutting Maul in half, the Sith survived -- providing Lucas the impetus for Lucas to potentially bring the character back as Grievous. As it unfolded in canon, though, Maul lost his legs -- and his sanity -- but nonetheless constructed himself a spider-like cybernetic set of limbs to replace them, as also seen in The Clone Wars. Because Obi-Wan spent the last eleven years studying his fight with Darth Maul, learning Jedi moves and how to counter Sith techniques. Obi-Wan knew, knew, that Maul should have absolutely cut him to ribbons on the ascent, and so Obi-Wan studied, and practiced, and became the best high-ground lightsaber fighters in Galactic history. X0ao6cU.darth maul legs cut off
