EL PASO, Texas — There was no competition for competitive eating legend Joey “Jaws” Chestnut as he challenged four soldiers at a Texas Army base to a hot dog eating contest. 

What You Need To Know

  • Breaking from his usual circuit, Chestnut spent the Fourth of July holiday at Fort Bliss in El Paso, Texas, at the Pop Goes the Fort event

  • This comes after Chestnut announced he would not attend Nathan’s Famous Fourth of July Hot Dog Eating Contest because of a sponsorship issue

  • Fort Bliss officials invited Chestnut to the event after hearing of the opening in his schedule, and Chestnut accepted, saying he would take on the base’s four best eaters and eat more hot dogs than they could combined in five minutes

  • Chestnut easily bested the four soldiers by wolfing down 57 hot dogs, while they ate a combined 49

Breaking from his usual circuit, Chestnut spent the Fourth of July holiday at Fort Bliss in El Paso, Texas, at the Pop Goes the Fort event. This came after Chestnut announced he would not attend Nathan’s Famous Fourth of July Hot Dog Eating Contest because of a sponsorship issue. Chestnut has won 16 out of the 17 previous competitions and holds the record at the event, eating 76 hot dogs in 10 minutes.

Major League Eating, the professional competitive eating league, initially banned Chestnut from the Coney Island contest after he signed a deal with Impossible Foods, which makes plant-based meat substitutes. The league walked back that decision, but the damage was done. Chestnut said he wouldn’t return to the event without an apology.

Fort Bliss officials invited Chestnut to the event after hearing of the opening in his schedule, and Chestnut accepted, saying he would take on the base’s four best eaters and eat more hot dogs than they could combined in five minutes. 

With the gauntlet thrown down and the rules set, the only thing left to do was eat.

Chestnut easily bested the four soldiers by wolfing down 57 hot dogs, while they ate a combined 49. 

Chestnut thanked the crowd after his victory and acknowledged the military service of his father, grandfather and brother, according to the Associated Press. 

“I love you guys,” Chestnut said. “You guys pushed me so hard, thank you so much.”

The Fort Bliss event was sponsored by Impossible Foods, and for every hot dog eaten, the company donated $1,000 to Operation Homefront, a charity that supports military families. In total, the competition raised $106,000. 

Chestnut’s next big event will see him take on one of his fiercest rivals, Takeru Kobayashi. The two will battle it out on Sept. 2 in a hot dog eating Netflix special called “Chestnut vs. Kobayashi: Unfinished Beef.”