I agree with the 2nd half of your statement, but still think it was worthy of a stop. I think it was 10 consecutive shots to the head without an attempt to guard. You have to protect yourself at all times...even if you're trying to stand up.
It's definitely controversial. I've seen guys come back from something like that when the ref didn't stop it, but I haven't seen too many early stoppages as bad as that one, although there are a handful. Joe Rogan thought it was early too. I think he said it best that there are only two things to do in that situation: Lay on your back or stand up. You can't block punches when you're using your arms to get off the mat. Plus, he was looking at Hendricks while it was going on, so he wasn't completely out of it yet.
I can see the other side of the argument that the ref made the right call because Amir was getting pummeled, though I don't really agree. He still could have recovered from that.
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