Joey Chestnut and his longtime nemesis Takeru Kobayashi are going head-to-head in a hot dog eating contest once again — but it won’t be part of the usual Fourth of July event … it’s a Labor Day extravaganza!!
The showdown is 15 years in the making — the two last went at it in 2009 at the traditional Nathan’s competition in Coney Island … when Jaws beat Kobayashi to defend his mustard belt.
The timing of the announcement is pretty interesting — on Tuesday, Major League Eating announced Chestnut was OUT of the Independence Day contest due to an endorsement deal he inked with a rival food company.
Just weeks ago, Kobayashi — who is 0-3 against Chestnut — claimed he was retired from competitive eating … but he explained in a press release there is some unfinished business to attend to before hanging up his gut for good.
“Retiring for me will only happen after I take him down one last time,” Kobayashi said on Wednesday. “This rivalry has been brewing for a long time.”
Chestnut — the 16-time Nathan’s contest champ with 8-straight hot dog victories — also weighed in … saying, “Through all of my years in competitive eating, Kobayashi stands out as my fiercest rival.”
“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!”
Chestnut and Kobayashi might be big-time foes, but they’re both kinda in the same boat now — after all, the latter had a highly-publicized spat with MLE back in 2010 after the org. tried to get him to sign an exclusive contract … and he never competed in the hot dog contest again.
Kobi famously attended in protest that same year … and he was later arrested after he stormed the stage, despite claiming he was only trying to congratulate Joey on his victory.
No word on the location … but the whole thing will stream on Netflix.