Netflix Announces Chestnut vs. Kobayashi: Unfinished Beef Live Special

The two biggest giants in competitive eating are going head-to-head in a new live event on Netflix. Joey Chestnut and Takeru Kobayashi, both legends of the annual Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest, spent years engaged in their eating rivalry. They last competed against one another in 2009, when Chestnut beat Kobayashi in a sudden death round of dogs, but Kobayashi will now be coming out of retirement to take one last shot at the crown.

Netflix announced on Wednesday that Chestnut vs. Kobayashi: Unfinished Beef will stream live on Labor Day, September 2nd. The news of this head-to-head competition comes directly in the wake of Chestnut getting banned from this year’s Nathan’s contest on July 4th. The 16-time champion recently signed an endorsement deal with Impossible Foods to promote their plant-based hot dog, and Nathan’s won’t let him compete while advertising for a competitor.

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Kobayashi was the biggest name in competitive eating until Chestnut arrived on the scene. The latter holds the record for most hot dogs eaten in 10 minutes with a whopping 76. The two battled fiercely for years, but Kobayashi stopped appearing at Nathan’s due to a contract dispute with Major League Eating.”Through all of my years in competitive eating, Kobayashi stands out as as my fiercest rival,” Chestnut said in a statement. “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!”

Kobayashi has been retired from competitive eating, but is returning to action for this special engagement against his longtime rival. In his statement, Kobayahis said that he won’t be able to truly step away from the game until he defeats Chestnut “one last time.”

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

There aren’t many details about the competition, other than that it will air live on Netflix on Labor Day of this year. But with a 15-year rivalry and 22 combined Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest wins, this beef is sure to come to an epic conclusion.