Chestnut's hot dog dominance by the numbers

04.07.2025, 16:53 espn.com

The GOAT has returned.

The GOAT of competitive eating, that is: Joey Chestnut. After a one-year hiatus from the Nathan's Famous Hot Dog Eating Contest because of a sponsorship dispute, the 16-time champion is back on Coney Island to recapture the Mustard Belt.

Unfamiliar with Chestnut's résumé? Major League Eating's official website sums it up bluntly: "Joey Chestnut is the greatest eater in history. That is not empty editorializing or bloviating. That is empirical fact. Members of the media and members of the scientific community are warmly invited to conduct their own independent analysis; MLE is confident that you will come to the same conclusions."

ESPN accepted this challenge to the media into MLE's claim. We found it difficult to refute. Chestnut -- who has won every edition of the competition he has competed in since 2015 -- is, in short, the foremost frankfurter eater ever.

As he goes for his 17th Mustard Belt on Friday (noon ET on ESPN2), he is an overwhelming favorite, listed at -1,600 according to ESPN BET odds. Here's a look at some of the numbers behind Chestnut's run of dominance:

The 10 highest totals in the event belong to Chestnut, and his 76 hot dogs eaten in 2021 is the record. Chestnut has eaten more than 70 dogs -- buns included -- six times. But he doesn't just devour hot dogs: He has the Major League Eating record in over 50 different categories, including chicken wings (182 in 30 minutes), hard-boiled eggs (141 in 8 minutes), grilled cheese sandwiches (47 in 10 minutes) and Twinkies (121 in 6 minutes). He most recently added a world record in the discipline of bologna slices to his résumé, consuming 15.75 pounds in eight minutes.

1,214: Since 2005, Chestnut has eaten 1,214 hot dogs and buns in the event.

8,194.5/682.875: The competition dogs from Nathan's are 6.75 inches long. The total length of hot dogs eaten by Chestnut equates to 8,194.5 inches, or 682.875 feet.

682.875 feet by comparison:

Distance to straightaway center at Citi Field and Yankee Stadium: 408 feet.

Distance of Aaron Judge's longest home run: 496 feet.

Height of the Statue of Liberty: 305 feet (and one inch).

149.879: Each Nathan's hot dog in the competition weighs 56 grams. That means Chestnut has eaten just under 150 pounds of hot dogs during his 16 performances on July 4. Therefore, Chestnut has eaten a weight equivalent to a UFC lightweight fighter.

In 2023, Chestnut ate 62 hot dogs and buns. Each amounts to 290 calories, meaning Chestnut consumed 17,980 calories in 10 minutes. In his competition career, he has eaten approximately 350,000 calories in hot dogs alone.

17,980 calories, by comparison:

Daily calories eaten by Michael Phelps in training for the 2008 Olympics: 10,000, according to Olympics.com.

Calories burned daily by polar bears: 12,234, according to Science magazine.

As Chestnut goes for his 17th Mustard Belt, there are some highly ranked competitive eaters looking to take him down.

Patrick Bertoletti -- who won the 2024 edition of the contest with Chestnut out -- is the No. 2-ranked eater, according to majorleagueeating.com. Bertoletti owns numerous world records, most recently adding a record in the hotcakes discipline by consuming 46 4-ounce hotcakes in 10 minutes.

Major League Eating's No. 3 eater will be competing on Coney Island as well, 50-year-old Geoffrey Esper. Esper's most recent record came in 2023, when he polished off 17.75 bagels with cream cheese in eight minutes.

Matthew Stonie, the last man to beat Chestnut head-to-head in this event -- a decade ago in 2015 -- is not slated to compete.

Competitive eating is typically an individual sport, with just one person against the competition.

Chestnut has won the Nathan's Famous Hot Dog Eating Contest 16 of the past 18 years, and was on a streak of eight consecutive years before missing the 2024 competition. Chestnut is ruling his sport in an era when he compares pretty favorably with champions in other individual sports:

Rafael Nadal: In 18 years, from 2005 to '22, he won 14 French Open titles.

Kelly Slater: He had 11 World Surf League crowns from 1994 to 2011.

Martina Navratilova: From 1978 to 1990, she won nine Wimbledon singles titles, including six in a row from 1982 to '87.

Tiger Woods: Won at least one major championship in every year except two (2003, 2004) from 1997 to 2008. That included the "Tiger Slam" from 2000 to '01 when he held all four major titles at one time.

In team sports, the championship leaders in the four majors are: Bill Russell (NBA) and Henri Richard (NHL), with 11, Yogi Berra (MLB) with 10 and Tom Brady (NFL) with seven.

Miki Sudo is the world-record holder in hot dogs eaten among women -- setting the mark in last summer's event, with 51 -- and has won nine of the 13 women's competitions held since 2011 (previously the event was coed).

Sudo missed the 2021 event -- won by Michelle Lesco -- while pregnant with her son Max, meaning she has won the event nine consecutive times while a part of the field.

But it's not just hot dogs for Sudo: She also holds four other competitive eating records:

Ice cream, short form: 16.5 pints of vanilla ice cream in six minutes (2017)

Kimchi: 8.5 pounds in six minutes (2013)

Wild rice hotdish: 14 pounds in eight minutes (2019)

Corn dogs: 21 5.6-ounce corn dogs in eight minutes (2022)

Can Sudo top her record-setting performance from 2024 at this year's edition of the contest (Friday at 10:45 a.m. ET on ESPN3)?

ESPN Stats & Information contributed research.