Joey Chestnut, Takeru Kobayashi to tackle 'Unfinished Beef' on Netflix's Hot Dog Eating Contest

A day later Joey Chestnut's ouster from the 2024 Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest, Netflix has announced that the champion hot dog will finally face his longtime but estranged rival, Takeru Kobayashi, in a special one-on-one match.

The bout aptly titled, “Chestnut vs. Kobayashi: Unfinished Beef,” will be streamed live on Netflix on Labor Day, September 2nd (exact time and location to be announced). This will be the first time in 15 years that the two champions will face off in a hot dog eating contest. Kobayashi, who won the Nathan's Contest six times in the early 2000s, has not participated in the signature contest since 2009 due to his refusal to sign an exclusive deal with Major League Eating.

Kobayashi's long-running feud with MLE now has obvious echoes in the circumstances surrounding Chestnut's ouster this year — specifically, Chestnut's sponsorship deal with Impossible Foods, a rival purveyor of plant-based hot dogs.

“MLE and Nathan's have gone to great lengths over the past few months to accommodate Joey and his management team by agreeing to the appearance fee and allowing Joey to compete in a competitive hot dog eating contest on Labor Day,” the statement said of MLE, referring to Netflix. competition before it is announced. “For nearly two decades, we have operated under the same basic hot dog exclusivity provisions. However, it appears that Joey and his managers have prioritized a new partnership with a different hot dog brand over our long-standing partnership.”

Kobayashi's early 2000s dominance of the Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest was critical to his rise in popularity at the turn of the millennium. He won the competition six years in a row, between 2001 and 2006, and set three different world records. Chestnut finally beat Kobayashi in 2007 and has won the competition every year since, except for 2015, when he was defeated by Matt Stonie. Chestnut also holds the current world record for most hot dogs and buns eaten in 10 minutes, with 76 (set in 2021).

“In all my years of competitive eating, Kobayashi stands out as my toughest opponent,” Chestnut said in a statement about the Unfinished Beef competition. “Fighting against him pushed me to be a lot better. I know the fans have been waiting a long time for another chapter in our rivalry and I can't wait for our massive showdown live on Netflix! It's time to give the world what it wants!”

“Retirement for me will only happen after I take him down one last time,” Kobayashi added. “This rivalry has been brewing for a long time. Competing against Joey live on Netflix means fans around the world can watch me knock him out.”