Joey Chestnut and Takeru Kobayashi — the top dogs of the competitive eating world — are ready to eat in the same arena for the first time since 2009.
The two gastronomic icons, who have won a combined 22 Mustard Belts at the Nathan’s Famous Hot Dog Eating Contest, will face off in an all-beef hot dog battle against each other Sept. 2 in an event to be streamed on Netflix.
The location for the event has yet to be determined.
Kobayashi, who announced his retirement from competitive eating due to health concerns just last month, won the annual Nathan’s contest on July 4 from 2001 to 2006, increasing his total of hot dogs and buns consumed from 50 at the start of that run to 63 in 2007, when Chestnut won his first title with 66.
“Retiring for me will only happen after I take him down one last time,” Kobayashi said in a release. “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.”
Chestnut has won the Nathan’s event 16 times, including the past eight, and holds the record of 76 hot dogs and buns eaten in 10 minutes. He will not compete this year, however, due to a Major League Eating “hot dog exclusivity provision” after Chestnut chose to represent another hot dog brand.
Chestnut and Kobayashi actually tied in the 2008 contest with 59 hot dogs consumed in 10 minutes, but Chestnut won an “eat-off” in which he downed five more in 50 seconds — 7 seconds faster than Kobayashi.
“Through all of my years in competitive eating, Kobayashi stands out as my fiercest rival,” Chestnut, who owns 55 eating world records, said in a statement. “Competing against him pushed me to be so much better. I know that fans have waited a long time for another chapter of our rivalry and I can’t wait for our massive showdown live on Netflix! It’s time to give the people what they want!”
Source Agencies
