The two have history -- Chael famously fought Jon back in 2013 (Jon won in a 1st round stoppage) ... and they've had a cordial relationship ever since.

So, we asked "The Bad Guy" for his thoughts and he didn't hold back.

"It's baffling. You look at this guy, and this guy is blessed in so many ways. Great family, not just mom and dad, but the brothers and his own internal family, his kids, his career, he’s a handsome guy, charming guy."

"You look at him, there’s nobody that can beat him except for him. Every wound he has is just self-inflicted and that’s just hard. It's to the point where you just grab him and go 'hey man, there's people that care, there’s another way.'"

Of course, Jon has had multiple issues with the law over the years -- including a previous DUI arrest in 2012, a hit-and-run in 2015, a drag-racing stop in 2016 and the newest DWI in 2020.

"Man I gotta tell ya, it just seems like if he would just get the Uber app, it just seems like so many of his problems would go away," Sonnen says.

"I sit back like anybody else and read, Jon and I don't have the best relationship, but I've known Jon for a number of years, I've competed with Jon, I've done stuff with Jon. But I observe Jon, more than anything I can observe him from the outside. And I'll just tell you, it would just seem like if he didn't just get behind the wheel."

"So many of his problems, which are self-inflicted by the way, would not exist."

As for Chael, he's staying REAL busy during the pandemic -- in fact, he's promoting a HUGE Submission Underground event on March 29th, live on UFC Fight Pass.