Amanda Nunes landed 31 significant strikes against Ronda Rousey en route to defending her UFC Women’s Bantamweight Championship at UFC 207 last Friday night. Veteran UFC referee Herb Dean thought Rousey had taken enough damage to stop the contest just 48 seconds into the fight.

Dean saw that ‘The Lioness’ was quickly overwhelming Rousey with a barrage of strikes that the former bantamweight queen couldn’t adequately defend, and as he told TMZ yesterday:

“My primary duty as a referee is to prevent fighters from taking unnecessary injuries once the fight is determined to no longer be competitive.”

Rousey had no answer for Nunes’ striking and failed to drag the Brazilian champ to the ground before it was too late. Herb Dean was front and center for Amanda Nunes’ post-fight victory celebration.

Dean had many critics in the aftermath of UFC 207, who claimed that the longtime octagon official had made a mistake in stopping the fight so soon — like Michael Rapaport. The actor and comedian appeared on Fox Sports 1’s “Undisputed” this week to give his thoughts on Herb Dean’s officiating.

“I think they stopped the fight too soon, and in my opinion — that was “White Girl Privilege” working at its finest,” said Rapaport, who concluded with “… let her go down, maybe she can recover!”

Herb Dean met with TMZ sports yesterday to defend the 48-second, first round stoppage:

“There’s a lot of people who have opinions about things but have no idea bout the criteria that we officials sue when we’re going to stop a fight,” Dean told TMZ Sports. “Amanda hits harder than any girl that I’ve seen in that division (women’s bantamweight) by far.”

Do you think Herb Dean was correct to save Rousey from further damage at UFC 207 or do you think ‘Rowdy’ Ronda Rousey could have mounted a comeback had the fight continued?

Highlights from the Amanda Nunes vs. Ronda Rousey UFC Women’s Bantamweight Championship match from UFC 207 can be seen below, via ESPN: