Takeru Kobayashi's hot dog eating rivalry with Joey Chestnut - ESPN

This Fourth of July, for the first time in 23 years, neither of the world's greatest competitive eaters, Takeru Kobayashi and Joey Chestnut, will feature in Nathan's Famous Hot Dog Eating Contest.

In 2010, Major League Eating banned Kobayashi from the event over a contractual dispute. They wanted him to be exclusive to MLE, which sanctioned the Nathan's event, held annually at Coney Island. Last month, the same happened to his longtime rival, Chestnut, whom MLE banned from Nathan's after he signed an endorsement deal with Impossible Foods, which makes vegan hot dogs.

Instead, the two men will face off in a live Netflix special on Labor Day to determine once and for all who is the greatest eater in the world. Their rivalry dates back to 2007, when Chestnut unseated Kobayashi, who had won Nathan's six years in a row and set multiple world records. Chestnut then went on to win 15 of the next 16 competitions and holds the current world record — 76 hot dogs and buns in 10 minutes. Kobayashi, now 46, wants it back.

ESPN spoke with Kobayashi through his interpreter, Noriko Okubo, for the July 3 episode of the ESPN Daily podcast. In Kobayashi's first interview since the Sept. 2 contest was announced, he discusses his rivalry with Chestnut, what happened with Major League Eating and why he never retired from competitive eating.

ESPN: You grew up in Japan where hot dogs are uncommon. What was it like the first time you tasted a hot dog?

Kobayashi: The first time I ever competed at Nathan's, I ate [a hot dog] two days before the actual competition, so it must have been July 2nd. I landed in New York, and it was the first thing that I ate, so I remember it clearly. The taste was very strong, and it was salty.

ESPN: What else do you