The 2025 Nathan’s Famous Hot Dog Eating Contest will welcome back its reigning champion — and the greatest hot dog eater of all time: Joey Chestnut.
Chestnut’s bombshell return comes after Major League Eating (MLE), which organizes the annual Fourth of July contest, banned Chestnut from participating in last year’s competition over his partnership with the plant-based meat brand Impossible Foods. In a statement shared with NPR, MLE said it took issue with Chestnut’s decision to “represent a rival brand.”
“For nearly two decades we have worked under the same basic hot dog exclusivity provisions,” the statement from MLE said. “However, it seems that Joey and his managers have prioritized a new partnership with a different hot dog brand over our long-time relationship.”
In an Instagram response, Chestnut said he was “very disappointed” about the ban. “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,” he wrote.
“To set the record straight, I do not have a contract with MLE or Nathan’s and they are looking to change the rules from past years as it relates to other partners I can work with,” Chestnut continued. “This is apparently the basis on which I’m being banned, and it doesn’t impact the July 4th contest.”
Chestnut celebrated his first contest win in 2007, beating six-time champion Takeru Kobayashi and kickstarting a years-long rivalry (the pair faced off one last time in a 2024 Netflix showcase, titled “Chestnut vs. Kobayashi: Unfinished Beef”). He has since won the Mustard Yellow Belt consistently every year, until 2015, when he lost his eight-year winning streak to Matt Stonie. Chestnut became the reigning champion once again from 2016 to 2023.
In 2024, Chestnut set a new world record, eating an astounding 83 hot dogs in 10 minutes. He holds 55 world records for eating a record number of foods including: hard boiled eggs (141 in 8 minutes), pastrami sandwiches (25 in 10 minutes), shrimp wontons (390 in 8 minutes), grilled cheese sandwiches (47 in 10 minutes), pierogi (165 in 8 minutes) and whole turkeys (9.35 lbs in 10 minutes).
