Why is Matt Stonie Not Competing in the Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest?
Photo by Steven Ferdman/WireImage.
The Nathan's Famous Hot Dog Eating Contest will be without Joey Chestnut.
Those watching people guzzle glizzies on July 4 already know that, but they will still be interested in betting on the event.
So, you might be thinking, what happened to that guy who defeated Chestnut in 2015?
That would be Matt Stonie. And he is, unfortunately, retired from professional hot dog eating.
Stonie was the only hot dog eater to defeat Chestnut in a 17-year span. He swallowed 62 hot dogs while Chestnut finished off 60 dogs. Stonie was just 23-years-old at the time.
He has been out of the game for a while now and hasn't competed in the event since 2019. He has been focused on his YouTube channel, where he has amassed over 16 million subscribers. Stonie regularly posts himself doing various eating challenges.
It is unclear why Stonie decided not to compete in the July 4 extravaganza, but as we have learned from the Chestnut situation, there are plenty of factors that may cause top professional eaters to skip the competition.
Stonie was recently interviewed in the New York Post, where he discussed the challenges of Kobayashi's ability to take down Chestnut in September's "Chestnut vs. Kobayashi: Unfinished Beef”.
The Hot Dog Eating Contest game appears to be changing. The July 4 contest is no longer the premiere event. So, would anybody be surprised to see Stonie return to face Chestnut or Kobayashi?
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