The Contestant That's Won The Most Nathan's Famous Hot Dog Eating Contests

The Fourth of July is the day Americans celebrate their independence while grilling up a storm, watching the sky light up with vibrant fireworks, and, of course, watch the weenie wars. The holiday wouldn't be the same without the competition that pits the world's most dominating devourers against each other in a clash for the Mustard Belt during the iconic Nathan's Famous Hot Dog Eating Contest. Held at New York's Coney Island for over two decades now, the challenge of consuming as many dogs as one can hold down in 10 minutes has made and broken some notable stars.

Since its inception in 2002, no one has come close to securing as many victories as Joey "Jaws" Chestnut. First entering the competition in 2005, Chestnut won his first title in 2007 by eating 66 hot dogs — beating out the previous year's winner and then five-year champion Takeru Kobayashi. Since 2007, the current world record holder has won Nathan's Famous Hot Dog Eating Contest 16 times, though his current winning streak may be ending due to a sponsorship conflict that has resulted in the reigning champ not being invited to this year's competition. This may give Geoffrey Esper – the runner-up in the last three events – a chance to finally be crowned the winner. And just as there is a WBNA to mirror the NBA, Major League Eating also has a women's division where things can get just as competitive. 

Until 2011, there was only one co-ed division in Nathan's Famous Hot Dog Eating Contest. As the competition gained notoriety and more challengers entered the fray, event organizers decided to create a separate women's division, and in doing so, they saw female stars quickly displaying dominance over their pile of dogs. For the first three years of the women's division, Sonya Thomas took home the Mustard Belt in clear victories. However, when Miki Sudo entered the contest in 2014, Nathan's witnessed the emergence of a new competitive eating star. Sudo defeated Thomas by just over six hot dogs and continued to dominate her rivals until 2021 when Michelle Lesco took the title. Sudo did not compete that year because she was expecting her first child.

Since her absence in 2021, Miki Sudo has secured back-to-back titles and hopes to win another on July 4 this year. Her rivals will have their work cut out for them as Sudo is also the current women's world record holder for eating 48.5 hot dogs in under 10 minutes in 2020. Miki Sudo and Joey Chestnut are undoubtedly the ultimate adversaries of other folks entering the contest, but there are also a few competitors that have been nipping at their heels over the years.

While Miki Sudo is favored to dominate the women's division again this year, the controversy over Joey Chestnut's sponsorship snafu surely excited his rivals for this year's frankfurter contest (naturally, there's a thriving betting market for such events). The only person to house more hot dogs than "Jaws" in Nathan's Famous Hot Dog Eating Contest was Matt Stonie in 2015, briefly halting Chestnut's then eight-year reign as champion. Stonie has not competed in the contest since 2019, but there are other solid contenders that have been eyeing the Mustard Belt for some time.

Some have proposed that with Chestnut's absence, this may be the year Geoffrey Esper has a chance to be king of Hot Dog Hill. The competitive eater from Oxford, Massachusetts has placed second to Chestnut in the last three years of the competition and holds world records in other eating categories as well. However, the close third-place finisher from the past two years – James Webb of Sydney, Australia – is sure to give Esper a run for his money as they battle it out on the Fourth of July. 

If you are cooking hot dogs on Independence Day this year, make sure they are fully unwrapped, season them up well, and don't feel like you have to compete with the professionals. They train quite a bit to be able to inhale all those franks, and they have the trophies to prove it.