Joey Chestnut Leaves Fans in Awe with 18th Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest Win on July 4th

Joey Chestnut further cemented his status as the most celebrated competitive eater of all time on Saturday by winning the 18th July 4 Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest of his career.

Chestnut devoured 66 hot dogs and buns at Coney Island in Brooklyn, New York, beating second-place finisher Patrick Bertoletti by 15 dogs to win the Mustard Belt.

Fans marveled at yet another dominant performance by "Jaws" on Independence Day, and they gave him his props through a series of posts on social media:

Chestnut won his second Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest in a row on Saturday, and it likely would have been his 11th consecutive title if not for a dispute in 2024.

The 42-year-old competitive eating legend was not permitted to compete in the 2024 Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest because of his sponsorship deal with Impossible Foods, which was a competitor of Nathan's Famous Hot Dogs.

Chestnut and Major League Eating worked things out in time for the 2025 competition, though, and he returned with a bang by winning last year's event with 70.5 hot dogs and buns consumed.

In 2007, Chestnut won his first Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest, famously ending Takeru Kobayashi's six-year run as champion in the process.

Since then, Chestnut has won every Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest he has competed in with the exception of 2015 when he was shockingly upset by "Megatoad" Matt Stonie, who beat him by two dogs.

Chestnut has been locked in and unbeatable ever since, though, and he showed once again on Saturday why he is the hot dog eating GOAT.