Joey Chestnut to compete against the soldiers of Fort Bliss

AUSTIN, Texas — Joey Chestnut will be eating hot dogs on the Fourth of July after all. The world-renowned hot dog eating champion is taking his talents to El Paso.

Chestnut will compete against soldiers from Fort Bliss at the annual Pop Goes the Fort Independence Day celebration on July 4 at Biggs Park.

In a post on X, officially known as Twitter, Fort Bliss asked Chestnut if he would like to join them this year.

“The soldiers at Fort Bliss heard you might be looking for a place to eat on the Fourth of July. We’d love to invite you to our Pop Goes the Fort 4th of July celebration to celebrate with our troops and see if you can take on some of our soldiers in a hot dog eating contest!”

“ABSOLUTELY!!!” replied Chestnut.

Major League Eating announced earlier this month Chestnut will not compete in Nathans’ Fourth of July Hot Dog Eating Contest after signing a deal with a plant-based hot dog company.

Chestnut said in a statement on Instagram that he was “disappointed” to learn he had been “banned” from the contest.

The 16-time hot dog eating champion has been competing since 2005 and hasn’t lost since 2015.

At last year’s event, he ate 62 hot dogs and buns in 10 minutes. In 2021, he reached his highest score of eating 76 hot dogs and buns.