Joey Chestnut And Takeru Kobayashi Will Face Off In The Hot Dog Eating Contest Of The Century

If you enjoy watching professional eaters duke it out over hot dogs, you're in for a real treat come this September. While you may have planned to spend Labor Day grilling the perfect cheeseburger and a few hot dogs, you can now include watching world record holders, Joey Chestnut and Takeru Kobayashi battle one-on-one in the ultimate hot dog eating contest. In "Unfinished Beef," featured and broadcasted live by Netflix on September 2, longtime rivals Chestnut and Kobayashi are coming together once more to see who can ultimately claim victory as the greatest all-beef hot dog eater in history.

Over the years, Chestnut and Kobayashi garnered longstanding reputations for successfully consuming mass amounts of food in 10 minutes or less. For these popular food icons to compete one more time is considered a historical event due, in part, to the rivals' juicy history. The last time these two renowned competitors faced each other was in 2009 at Nathan's Famous Fourth of July International Hot Dog-Eating Contest. Kobayashi had previously claimed the top spot up until 2007 when Chestnut took over. In 2009, Chestnut consumed 68 hot dogs in comparison to Kobayashi's 64.5. Now, in 2024, both competitors are making sacrifices to face each other one last time to see who will claim the top spot.

Given the fact that Joey Chestnut and Takeru Kobayashi have gone more than a decade without a healthy battle, "Unfinished Beef" is the perfect title for this long-standing rivalry. Past circumstances prevented the pair from successfully competing against each other in subsequent Nathan's hot dog competitions. After the last takedown in 2009, contract disputes prevented Kobayashi's return. Chestnut remained a successful competitor through 2023, yet he developed his own condiment line in 2018 and eventually partnered with plant-based food company, Impossible Foods which posed his own contract dispute. Even though Joey Chestnut is banned from Nathan's 2024 hot dog eating contest, Netflix happily announced its live event "Unfinished Beef" shortly after the news broke.

For Kobayashi, the long-awaited hot dog eating contest hosted by Netflix will most likely be his last. In the 2024 Netflix documentary film, "Hack Your Health – The Secrets of Your Gut," Kobayashi talks of retiring due to the negative impact competitive eating has had on his mind and body. According to USA Today, doctors believe competitive eating has also taken a toll on Kobayashi's nervous system. Regardless, the food competitor is committed to once again going head-to-head against Chestnut. Kobayashi admitted to Netflix, "Retiring for me will only happen after I take him down one last time." "Unfinished Beef" will air on September 2, 2024. Location and time are to be announced later this summer.