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This question already has an answer here:

Since the ring was only able to be controlled by Sauron, why would he be afraid of someone else wielding it? Everyone, even the most powerful beings, admitted they couldn't use it.

Yes, this question is more about Sauron's reaction. Another question said that Sauron was terribly afraid and I just didn't get the feeling that he was. But if he was why was he?

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marked as duplicate by Valorum Sep 26 '15 at 13:30

This question has been asked before and already has an answer. If those answers do not fully address your question, please ask a new question.

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    The accepted answer on the linked question claims that gigawatt's assumption is correct - nobody could really use the Ring but Sauron. This question is asking a further question - given that nobody else can really use the Ring, why is Sauron worried at all? It might diminish him, but he still has ME hugely outnumbered. How then is it a duplicate? – Shamshiel Sep 26 '15 at 17:27
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    @Shamshiel: Sauron is worried that someone will "dominate the Ring and break Sauron's hold over it." The Ring is one of his major weaknesses. As for your view that even when diminished he "still has ME hugely outnumbered," the Tolkien letter quoted in the linked question's answers suggests that he would be vulnerable to attack in this state. – wyvern Sep 27 '15 at 9:27
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    @sumelic: Yes; I personally think the linked answer should be ignored, because it is wrong: anyone who gets the Ring does gain substantial powers and can be a serious threat to Sauron. But that's not the conclusion that the linked answer comes to, and it's not the assumption this question is based on. Given the premise - the Ring doesn't give you power, just imaginations of power - and Sauron outnumbers the West militarily by an enormous margin, with Gandalf believing his victory is inevitable even without the Ring, why is Sauron worried? – Shamshiel Sep 27 '15 at 18:16
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    @Shamshiel: even the accepted answer says that while claiming the Ring doesn't make the claimant stronger, it would make Sauron weaker. Gandalf thinks Sauron's victory is inevitable during the events of the Trilogy, during which Sauron doesn't "have" the Ring but he retains much of his power because nobody else tries to deny him his power by claiming the Ring. " But even if he did not wear it, that power existed and was in 'rapport' with himself: he was not 'diminished'. Unless some other seized it and became possessed of it." – wyvern Sep 27 '15 at 18:29
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    @sumelic: Sure, but it's unclear how that helps much against Sauron's vast, incredible military superiority. In his first hasty strike, described as only a "finger" on the Black Hand, he came close to annihilating the only Western kingdoms with any military strength, except Lothlorien. Nevertheless, it is clear that the OP, like me, read the linked question and did not see anything he could construe as an answer to this question. His question presupposes the linked question and answer. – Shamshiel Sep 27 '15 at 19:40