Longtime rivals Joey Chestnut and Takeru Kobayashi are set to face off for the first time in 15 years during a hot dog eating contest streaming exclusively on Netflix on September 2nd.
Chestnut vs. Kobayashi: Unfinished Beef will see 16-time hot dog eating champion Chestnut going up against six-time champion Kobayashi. The announcement comes after Chestnut was banned from this year’s July 4th Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest due to his deal with rival brand Impossible Foods.
“Through all of my years in competitive eating, Kobayashi stands out 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 added, “Retiring for me will only happen after I take him down one last time. 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.”
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The competitive eating legends have not faced off since 2009, when Chestnut picked up his first victory over Kobayashi in a sudden death eat-off.
News of Unfinished Beef follows Netflix’s Jake Paul vs. Mike Tyson boxing event, which was recently postponed to November 15th. Netflix has also struck deals to exclusively stream WWE Raw starting in 2025 and NFL Christmas games beginning this year.
