Joey Chestnut set another hot dog eating world record on Labor Day against rival Takeru Kobayashi. The competitors faced off for the first time in 14 years in the Netflix special “Chestnut vs. Kobayashi: Unfinished Beef,” in which Chestnut ate 83 hot dogs while Kobayashi ate 66.

Chestnut outdid himself on Monday after last setting the world record in 2021 when he ate 76 hot dogs in 10 minutes. This time, he reached the 76-sausage mark after just eight minutes and 45 seconds.

The Labor Day special was a huge hit for fans of this niche sport that is usually a big deal around the Fourth of July. For one thing, it was a rematch between these two legends — despite being considered two of the top names in the game, Chestnut and Kobayashi hadn’t faced off in 14 years. The duo reunited at HyperX Arena Las Vegas.

“I’ve been trying to do 80 hot dogs for years, and I never would have done it without Kobayashi,” Chestnut said after accepting his $100,000 win, a championship belt and a trophy that was – of course – shaped like a hot dog. “He pushes me. We haven’t always been nice to each other, but I love how we push each other to do our best.”

The event, hosted by Rob Riggle and Nikki Garcia, will also be the last time Kobayashi plans to compete in an eating contest. Earlier this year, the six-time winner of the Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest spoke about his retirement at the age of 46.

“I hear people say they are hungry and they look very happy after they eat… I’m jealous of those people because I’m not hungry anymore,” Kobayashi said in the Netflix documentary “Hack Your Health: The Secrets of Your Gut.” The competitive eater also wondered in the documentary “what damage I have done to my body.”

“Unfinished Beef” also marks a welcome return for Chestnut. Chestnut, who has long been a staple of Independence Day weekends and has 16 titles to his credit, did not compete in the competition this year because he entered a new partnership with a company that focuses on plant-based products. This switch from Nathan’s all-beef to no beef made him ineligible to compete because he violated the exclusivity contract for the Nathan’s Famous Fourth of July competition.

“We are devastated to learn that Joey Chestnut has chosen to represent a competing brand that sells plant-based hot dogs rather than participate in the Nathan’s Famous Hot Dog Eating Contest on July 4, 2024,” Major League Eating said in a statement at the time.

“Chestnut vs. Kobayashi: Unfinished Beef” is now streaming on Netflix.

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