Yes and what would winning a battle have got him? It wouldn't have proved that he was right and in fact it would have proved that he was wrong-that he wasn't willing to talk it out, and that the fact that they fought Marlene instead of talking her down was right. So. If you look at it that way, technically he is standing for his beliefs.
He wouldn't have used magic if he stayed, he just would have got his butt kicked. He knows he's not that good at combat. And that would have just shown that Gabriel is weak without his spirits. This way, he gets to stick to what he believed in with Marlene and show that Hunter is in the wrong.
