Inside Joey Chestnut and Takeru Kobayashi’s long-running hot dog eating rivalry as they prepare to compete on Netflix

Joey Chestnut and Takeru Kobayashi are to competitive eating culture what Larry Bird and Magic Johnson were to basketball, or Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier were to boxing.

Two of their best athletes constantly compete against each other for the highest stakes, and few other contemporaries can match that.

The simmering hot dog-eating rivalry will reignite later Monday for Netflix’s live event, “Chestnut vs. Kobayashi: Unfinished Beef.” The duo haven’t faced off in a high-profile professional hot dog eating contest since 2009.

For the first time since 2000, neither man entered this year’s Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest, leading to a rival meal featuring only sausages and buns.

Here’s a look into the rivalry between the two best competitive eaters of all time.

The food culture rivals haven’t met in a major competition in more than 15 years, until Monday’s showdown.

Kobayashi and Chestnut have been competing since 2005, when Chestnut, fresh out of college, entered the competitive eating world.

The first Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest among men was a great success: Kobayashi ate 49 hot dogs and Chestnut 32.

Kobayashi had already achieved cult status when Chestnut came on the scene. His 50th hot dog appearance in 2001 nearly doubled his winning total from the year before.

The 2006 duel between Kobayashi and Chestnut was a lot more exciting, with the Japanese star player beating his American rival by less than two hot dogs.

In 2007, Chestnut defeated Kobayashi for the first time with three hot dogs.

The historic 2008 event saw the time limit to eat as many hot dogs as possible drop from 12 minutes to 10, with Chestnut and Kobayashi tied for an eat-off after 59 hot dogs. Chestnut won with five overtime hot dogs that were eaten in 50 seconds, seven seconds faster than his Japanese rival.

The 2009 hot dog eating contest was the last Independence Day event that pitted Kobayashi and Chestnut against each other. The American drunk won by more than three sausages.

Kobayashi has not competed in the Fourth of July event since 2009 because he did not sign an exclusive contract with Major League Eating, leading to a period where Chestnut dominated.

From 2007 to 2023, Chestnut lost the hot dog eating contest once, in 2015 by two dogs to Matt Stonie.

Chestnut himself did not participate in the hot dog eating contest this year due to his sponsorship by Impossible Foods.

Now, the combined winners of 22 of the last 24 hot dog eating contests will go head-to-head, 15 years after they last met in a battle over buns and sausages.