Nathan’s hot dog champ ‘motivated’ by Chestnut return
Competitive eater Patrick ‘Deep Dish’ Bertoletti joins ‘Fox & Friends First’ to discuss his preparation for this year’s Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest and defending his title against 16-time winner Joey Chestnut.
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The 2025 Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest will feature the legendary competitive eater Joey Chestnut back on the Coney Island boardwalk after missing the 2024 competition.
As a result, many believe he will reclaim his belt.
Chestnut’s partnership with Impossible Foods caused an issue last year, and it ended up keeping him out of the competition. This year, though, Chestnut announced that he and the organizers had found common ground on sponsorships.
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Defending champion Joey Chestnut competes in the 2023 Nathan’s Famous Fourth of July International Hot Dog Eating Contest on July 4, 2023 at Coney Island in the Brooklyn borough of New York City. (Alexi J. Rosenfeld/Getty Images)
“I’m thrilled to be returning to the Nathan’s Famous Fourth of July Hot Dog Eating Contest. This event means the world to me. It’s a cherished tradition, a celebration of American culture, and a huge part of my life,” Chestnut wrote on X.
“While I have and continue to partner with a variety of companies, including some in the plant-based space, those relationships were never a conflict with my love for hot dogs. To be clear: Nathan’s is the only hot dog company I’ve ever worked with.
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“I respect that there were differences in interpretation, but I’m grateful we’ve been able to find common ground. I’m excited to be back on the Coney Island stage, doing what I live to do, and celebrating the Fourth of July with hot dogs in my hands! Stay hungry!”
Chestnut is hungry to be a champion again, and sportsbooks don’t have anyone remotely close to beating him.
Last year’s winner, Patrick Bertoletti, who ate 58 hot dogs in 10 minutes, has big odds to defeat Chestnut and the rest of the field.
If he does win, Chestnut would extend his record for the famous contest to 17 yellow belts.
Patrick Bertoletti wins the men’s title during Nathan’s Famous Hot Dogs Eating Contest in New York City on July 4, 2024. (Beata Zawrzel/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
Although he didn’t participate in last year’s competition, Chestnut did go up against another legendary competitive eater, Takeru Kobayashi, in a Netflix special event called “Unfinished Beef.” He ate 83 hot dogs, which marked the most eaten in the history of competitive eating without being dunked in water.
On the women’s side, Miki Sudo, who has won three times in a row now, is expected to get her 11th pink belt in Coney Island for her career. Her biggest competition will be Domenica Dee and Michelle Lesco, the latter of whom snapped Sudo’s win streak in 2021.
For those unaware of Nathan’s rules, the time limit is just 10 minutes in both the men’s and women’s contests.
The contestant who not only consumes, but also keeps down, the most hot dogs and buns within the 10-minute limit is determined the winner.
In the rare event a tie occurs, the contest will go to an untimed “eat-off,” where the first contestant to put down a specific number of hot dogs, with the buns, wins.
Joey Chestnut visits “The Claman Countdown” with host Liz Claman at Fox Business Network Studios on July 2, 2025 in New York City. (Roy Rochlin/Getty Images)
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The last time there was an eat-off was 2008, where Chestnut won by eating five hot dogs and buns in 50 seconds.
The women’s contest will occur first at 10:45 a.m. ET before the men take the stage at noon on July 4.
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