There are three guarantees in life: death, taxes, and Joey Chestnut eating a dangerous amount of hot dogs on the Fourth of July.
Today’s 2026 Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest was no different as Chestnut stepped on stage in an attempt to win his record 18th title. In addition, Chestnut was hoping to beat his own record set a few years ago by eating more than 76 hot dogs. Oddsmakers gave Chestnut a 96% chance to walk away as Saturday’s winner, but only an 8% chance to break his record.
Regardless of
the pre-contest odds, Chestnut was going to make America proud and eat a ton of hot dogs to ring in the country’s 250th anniversary.
Fortunately, Chestnut didn’t disappoint as he crushed the competition on stage to earn his 18th Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest title. The veteran eater did not break his previous record of 76 hot dogs, but Chestnut did scarf down a total of 66 wieners. It may be a tad lighter than what fans are used to seeing, but it was 100 degrees today in New York.
Check out the video highlights below and let us know if anyone will ever surpass Chestnut as the greatest competitive eater of all time!
