The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 10 letter word ARMAGEDDON
I've seen this crossword clue in The Times
A
R
M
A
G
E
D
D
O
N
More clues leading to the result ARMAGEDDON
- Old fellow supporting a jolly large-scale conflict
- A jolly old fellow’s battle against evil
- Old cove coming before academic for mighty battle
- Old fellow pursuing Member for Battle
- A dictator finally gone mad, end of world catastrophically?
- Mad dog near bombed battleground …
- Morgan dead, butchered in final battle
- Give gun to old Mafia boss for final conflict
- Give old teacher a gun for ultimate war
- Equip ancient teacher for final battle
Buddy explains!

The straight part
We know that "battle against evil" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case battle against evil = armageddon.The cryptic/wordplay part
In cryptic crossword there's often an wordplay/cryptic part as well.This part involves a more complex hint, such as an anagram, homophone, hidden word, etc.
Sadly, We don't have an explanation for this specific crossword clue yet.
What does ARMAGEDDON mean?
ARMAGEDDON noun- The scene of a decisive conflict on a great scale.
- Any great and crucial conflict.