Joey Chestnut and Miki Sudo won the men’s and women’s editions, respectively, of the 2025 Nathan’s Famous International Hot Dog Eating Contest.
Chestnut ate 70.5 hot dogs and buns in 10 minutes, and Sudo downed 33 hot dogs and buns.
Both Chestnut and Sudo are past winners and the top male and female champions of all time, winning their 17th and 11th titles overall with their victories this year. While Sudo was defending her top finish from last year, Chestnut returned after he was banned from last year’s event over a sponsorship with Impossible Foods.
Chestnut’s absence from the 2024 event, his first in nearly 20 years, came after the competitive eater signed a deal to be a spokesperson for Impossible Foods, which launched a plant-based hot dog last year. The deal, Major League Eating claimed, went against the brand’s exclusivity rules for the competition.
“For nearly two decades we have worked under the same basic hot dog exclusivity provisions,” Major League Eating said in a statement in June 2024. “However, it seems that Joey and his managers have prioritized a new partnership with a different hot dog brand over our long-time relationship.”
Chestnut said he was “gutted” to learn he wouldn’t be able to compete last year.
“To set the record straight, I do not have a contract with MLE or Nathans and they are looking to change the rules from past years as it relates to other partners I can work with,” Chestnut wrote on X at the time. “Sadly, this is the decision Nathan’s and Major League Eating are making, and it will deprive the great fans of the holiday’s usual joy and entertainment.”
Instead, Chestnut competed in a July 4 contest at an Army base in El Paso, Texas, with Patrick Bertoletti, who came in second in this year’s competition, winning the 2024 Nathan’s Famous International Hot Dog Eating Contest.
Chestnut later faced off against longtime nemesis Takeru Kobayashi, and emerged victorious, in a Netflix live-streamed Labor Day competitive eating contest.
But in June 2025, Chestnut announced that he’d be returning to Coney Island for the Nathan’s event.
“This event means the world to me. It’s a cherished tradition, a celebration of American culture and a huge part of my life,” Chestnut said in his social media announcement. “I’m excited to be back on the Coney Island stage, doing what I live to do, and celebrating the Fourth of July with hot dogs in my hands!”
As for what brought Chestnut back, he said on social media that there were “differences in interpretation” but that he and organizers were able to “find common ground.”
“While I have and continue to partner with a variety of companies, including some in the plant-based space, those relationships were never a conflict with my love for hot dogs,” he wrote. “To be clear: Nathan’s is the only hot dog company I’ve ever worked with.”
Major League Eating confirmed that Chestnut would be back at the Nathan’s Famous event, and its cofounder and emcee George Shea told NPR, “we were able to come together and I think everybody was interested in that.” He declined to comment on details of the agreement.
“Major League Eating is extremely excited that Joey will be returning to the 4th of July event this year, and it literally will be the greatest sporting event in the history of sports,” Shea said. “We are excited, the fans are excited and it was sort of all systems go for the 4th.”
Chestnut, meanwhile, told the Associated Press, that though he never appeared in any commercials for Impossible Foods’ plant-based dogs, he “should have made that more clear with Nathan’s.”
In a pre-taped interview that aired on ESPN as part of its annual coverage of the hot dog eating contest, Chestnut said it “took a little bit of talking” and referenced some “egos” and communication that brought him back to the Coney Island stage. But, he said, he never gave up hope he’d be back.
Both Chestnut and Sudo told ESPN they felt they could’ve done better, despite their victories.
“I wish I ate a hell of a lot more, sorry guys, but I’ll be back next year,” Chestnut said on ESPN after his win.
Later he noted that he was “nervous” and said, “The first couple hot dogs I was fumbling a little.”
But ultimately, he “found a rhythm” and while his goal was to eat “between 70 and 77,” he “wanted a bit more.”
“Showing up is the hardest part sometimes,” he said. “I love doing it and pushing myself.”
Joey Chestnut, wearing his championship belt and holding a platter of hot dogs, after winning the 2025 Nathan’s Famous International Hot Dog Eating Contest.
Adam Gray/Getty Images
Sudo’s total meanwhile was down from the 51 hot dogs and buns she ate last year.
“I feel like I let the fans down a little bit. I heard people in the crowd saying, ‘Go for 52,’” Sudo told ESPN. “Obviously, I’m always setting my goals high, but the hot dogs weren’t cooperating. For some reason, the buns felt larger today.”
The total prize for the contest is $40,000, split between the men’s and women’s divisions. The first place finisher gets $10,000, second place gets $5,000 and third place gets $2,500.
This year’s event took place, as usual, outside the original Nathan’s location in Coney Island, New York, and aired on ESPN2 and ESPN3. Fans who missed seeing who became the top dog of both contests can check out replays at 2 and 6 p.m.
ESPN’s platforms have aired the hot dog eating contest since 2004 and inked a new deal with the International Federation of Competitive Eating in 2022, extending the partnership through 2029.
This year, Ryan Reynolds also got in on the action, starring in an ad that aired multiple times during the Nathan’s competition on ESPN2. In the commercial, the Deadpool star joined hot dog world celeb Richard Galanti, the former CFO of Costco, which has sold a $1.50 hot dog and soda meal for the past 40 years, without raising the price. Galanti was one of the Costco executives who helped keep the price down. The ad, which introduces Galanti as Mint Mobile’s Chief Anti-Inflation Officer, highlights how plans from the wireless company that was sold to T-Mobile two years ago have stayed at $15 since launch.
The commercial aired in at least two prime slots, the first break of ESPN’s hourlong broadcast and the break before the winner in the men’s competition was announced.
