Anderson Silva won't fight until 2013

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Longtime UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva does not intend to defend his belt again in 2012.

UFC president Dana White confirmed the news Saturday at a news conference in Denver, saying the 37-year-old would like time off after posting a second-round win over rival Chael Sonnen last month.

"Anderson said he wants to take some time off until after the end of this year, then we'll start talking to him," White said.

Silva (32-4) is the current record-holder for most UFC title defenses at 10 and has a perfect 15-0 record since joining the promotion in 2006.

Should Silva's desire for time off hold, it would mark the first time in his UFC career he'll make just one appearance in a calendar year. A shoulder injury kept him out of the Octagon for nearly one year following a win over Yushin Okami in August 2011.

Waiting in the wings is perceived No. 1 middleweight contender Chris Weidman, who is coming off a terrific TKO win over Mark Munoz on July 11 in San Jose, Calif.

Regarding the prospect, White praised Weidman's last performance but said the 28-year-old would have to either accept another fight or wait and hope for the best while Silva rests.

"He's in a great spot. He demolished the No. 3 guy (Munoz) in spectacular fashion," White said. "He's got the right to call out whoever he wants.

"He's going to have to wait or fight, because Anderson is going to fight after the end of the year."

Silva's camp, however, has expressed no interest in facing Weidman and has turned its attention more on current 170-pound champion Georges St. Pierre.

A fight between Silva and St. Pierre (22-2), who is scheduled to return to action in November after last year's knee surgery, has long been a wish of many MMA fans. The two widely have been considered the top two fighters in the world for years.

When asked whether the promotion would wait to book a fight for Silva until after the result of St. Pierre's title defense against Carlos Condit is known, White refused to commit.

"I guess (St. Pierre) says he wants to fight (Silva), too," White said. "Could be."

Should that matchup play out, it would be the perfect headliner for a UFC live event debut at Dallas Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas -- something White previously mentioned could happen in January.

UFC co-owner Lorenzo Fertitta told ESPN.com, however, that while the promotion is still in talks with the venue, an official date likely won't surface by early 2013.

"I don't think we'd do anything in January but we've been in contact with them," Fertitta said. "Dallas Cowboys Stadium is something we definitely want to do and we're focused on, but it's tricky. It's so busy, it's hard to get a date that works for us."

"We'll keep an eye on it. It's got to be the right fight. If we're doing Dallas Cowboys Stadium it would probably either be a catchweight superfight or something else that's huge."

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Brett Okamoto

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• MMA columnist for ESPN.com
• Analyst for "MMA Live"
• Covered MMA for Las Vegas Sun