Competitive eating legends Joey Chestnut, Takeru Kobayashi to face off in Labor Day hot dog eating contest
It's time to squash the beef.
Two of the most famous names in competitive eating, Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest champions Joey Chestnut and Takeru Kobayashi, will go head-to-head in a "winner-takes-all" hot dog eating matchup to air live on Netflix on Labor Day, Sept. 2, the streaming platform announced Wednesday.
The matchup, "Chestnut vs. Kobayashi: Unfinished Beef," will be the first time the pair has faced each other since 2009.
"Retiring for me will only happen after I take him down one last time," said Kobayashi, a six-time Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Champion, who is colloquially referred to as the "Godfather of Competitive Eating." "This rivalry has been brewing for a long time. Competing against Joey live on Netflix means fans all over the world can watch me knock him out."
Knocking out Chestnut may prove to be a tall task: Kobayashi's opponent has notched 16 Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest wins over the years and holds the world record for most hot dogs eaten at the event, totaling 76 in 10 minutes on July 4, 2021, according to a press release.
Kobayashi is no stranger to superlatives himself, having an illustrious career since 2001, when he scarfed down 50 hot dogs and won the title, a feat he accomplished six consecutive times.
On Tuesday, Major League Eating announced that Chestnut would not be competing in Nathan's Fourth of July hot dog eating contest this year, due to his decision to endorse vegan hot dogs instead of Nathan's.
"I was gutted to learn from the media that after 19 years Im banned from the Nathan's July 4th Hot Dog Eating Contest," Chestnut wrote on X, formerly Twitter, adding, "I love competing in that event, I love celebrating America with my fans all over this great country on the 4th and I have been training to defend my title."
Chestnut maintained that he does not have a contract with Major League Eating and that the organization is "looking to change the rules from past years as it relates to other partners I can work with."
