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At this point, no 4th of July is complete without Joey Chestnut.
Americans everywhere will rush to their televisions at noon on America’s 250th birthday, as the world’s biggest eater will attempt to eat one hot dog for every year of America’s existence.
OK, that might be a stretch, but it’s already a foregone conclusion that Chestnut will earn his 18th Mustard Yellow Belt in 19 tries on Saturday afternoon.
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Joey Chestnut wins the men’s competition at Nathan’s Annual Hot Dog Eating Contest in New York City on July 4, 2025. He returned to compete for a 17th victory after missing the 2024 event due to a sponsorship dispute with Major League Eating. (Adam Gray/Getty Images)
Greatness began in 2007, ending a streak of six consecutive titles won by former GOAT Takeru Kobayashi, who actually injured his jaw before that competition. Chestnut’s 66 hot dogs defeated Kobayashi’s 63 in a preview of a legendary career to follow.
A rivalry ensued between the two, with Chestnut narrowly beating Kobayashi the next two years, including via a tiebreaker in 2008. When Kobayashi was banned from the event in 2010, Chestnut took off.
Chestnut had won every title from 2007 to 2014, but was the victim of a huge upset in 2015 against Matt Stonie, losing 62-60. But Stonie’s glory was short-lived and Chestnut won each of the next eight events.
There was a new champion in 2024, but not because Chestnut lost; he was actually banned from competing after signing a brand deal with a rival of Nathan’s. After much back and forth, Chestnut was allowed to return to the 2025 event with just a few weeks to spare, and regained the title with 70.5 dogs and buns.
Joey Chestnut visits “The Claman Countdown” with host Liz Claman at Fox Business Network Studios on July 2, 2025 in New York City. (Roy Rochlin/Getty Images)
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“It was great. The audience is incredible, it’s electric. It’s good to be back after fixing some things,” Chestnut recently told Pak Gazette Digital about his return last year. “I’m doing what I love. I got the best job in the world. I get to eat, travel, hit people and meet happy people. So it was great to be back.”
Not all of Chestnut’s titles have been easy. In 2022, a protester interrupted Chestnut’s meal, but he miraculously strangled him and returned to work; He still managed to take down 63 dogs and buns.
Even his likely championship on Saturday won’t come without problems, as his 2026 eligibility was in doubt for a while amid a battery charge. Chestnut drunkenly slapped a man in an Indiana bar and pleaded guilty to the charge in April. He is currently serving 180 days of probation, but was granted permission to travel for the event.
His all-time record is 76, which he set in 2021. He broke his own record of 75 from the previous year, which surpassed another previous record of 74 from 2018.
And while most are watching for a reason, Chestnut believes this event is about much more than just watching him.
FILE – Joey Chestnut, winner of the 2021 Nathan’s International Fourth of July Hot Dog Eating Contest, poses for photos at Coney Island’s Maimonides Park on July 4, 2021, in the Brooklyn borough of New York. (AP Photo/Brittainy Newman, File)
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“It’s never about me,” he told Pak Gazette in May. “It’s not even about the hot dogs. It’s the 4th of July. It’s an eating contest, but it’s really a 4th of July celebration, a celebration in New York. And that contest is hard to describe exactly.
“It’s an event, it’s more than just a food contest. It’s part of the Fourth of July celebration for New York City, and I’m just a small part of it. And when it comes to that celebration, I’m so happy that I was able to come back and be a part of people’s Fourth of July.”
