UFC light heavyweight contender Anthony Johnson might be a serious threat to champion Jon Jones, but Chael Sonnen doesn’t see a new titleholder on the horizon any time soon.

The now-retired Sonnen told The Adam Carolla Show that while Johnson (19-4 MMA, 10-4 UFC) is “big,” “strong” and “on a roll right now,” current champ Jones (21-1 MMA, 15-1 UFC) is a force comparable to one of the most feared fighters in history.

“It’s very unlikely that anybody is going to do too well with Jon Jones right now,” Sonnen said. “The longer you stay out there with him is turning into a success. It’s like the Mike Tyson days. If you could just get to Round 2 and 3 – and boy, if you make it to 5 – it’s such a victory, morally. Jon Jones is the baddest dude walking the planet, and that’s just the reality.”

Sonnen should know. Before hanging up his gloves this past year amid a doping scandal, he got a controversial title shot with Jones. At the time, the UFC was looking to revive TV ratings for “The Ultimate Fighter” and cast the trash-talking Sonnen, who’d twice failed to win the middleweight belt, opposite the champ with a title shot ending their rendezvous.

Asked when he knew Jones was better during their in 2013 matchup, Sonnen told Carolla, “Right away.”

“I walked out there thinking I was going to beat this guy,” he said. “I had my matches with Anderson, and Anderson won them, but I whipped him. He won like the last three seconds of the fight and won the fight. So I went in there with a bunch of confidence against Jon Jones. I trained right – everything was perfect. Man, it must have been 30 seconds in when I realized when this is a whole other deal. He felt like he weighed 300 pounds.

“When he put his hands on me and pushed me up against the fence, it was like a Volvo against a Mack truck.”

Jones ultimately pounded out Sonnen in the first round of their UFC 159 headliner and sent the silver-tongued contender into a kind of limbo as a top draw with few title prospects.

Despite his skepticism about Johnson, Sonnen said the current No. 1 contender is still an intriguing threat to Jones, though he noted Johnson “barely makes it” to light heavyweight despite moving up two weight classes to stage a title run. The UFC released Johnson in 2012 after he failed to make middleweight, which was his third miss after an impressive, but uneven, run at welterweight.

Johnson has said he’s realigned his priorities since being cut by the UFC. In the cage, he’s beaten three top-tier light heavyweights, including onetime title challenger Alexander Gustafsson, who was expected to rematch Jones.

Out of the cage, Johnson has been beleaguered by multiple allegations (and one conviction) of domestic abuse. The resulting scandal, however, has paled in comparison to that which Jones encountered after his most recent title fight.

Although the light-heavyweight champ defended his belt an eighth time when he fought time this past month against Daniel Cormier, an out-of-competition drug test found cocaine metabolites in his system.

“I wish he would stop doing that,” Sonnen said. “I know the guy personally. He’s a cool guy. He’s funny. He’s nice to people. He’s generous. But he’s a party animal. As soon as the sun goes down, he’s headed out.

“He’s 24 years old. He’s not married. I don’t think there’s a thing in the world wrong with it. I’m not sure why he does. He’s so ashamed of it that he pretends to be something else, and it gets himself in trouble. The reality of who he is is a very likable guy. If he was in the room right now, he’d have us all cracking up. He can dance a little bit; he tells funny stories.”

Jones and Johnson are expected to meet May 23 at UFC 187. Sonnen will be providing analysis on the bout as an MMA analyst for ESPN, which hired the now-retired fighter after FOX released him in the wake of his positive drug tests.

For the latest on UFC 187, stay tuned to the UFC Rumors section of the site.