Joey Chestnut Keeps Hot Dog Eating Title

(CANVAS STAFF REPORTS) - Joey Chestnut defended his Nathan’s Famous Fourth of July International Hot Dog Eating Contest title at Coney Island in Brooklyn, N.Y. Sunday. His primary competition Takeru Kobayashi was present, but did not compete. Kobayashi did try to rush the stage and had to be dragged backstage. Chestnut's unofficial total was 54 hot dogs and buns, which was well shy of his record of 68 HDBs.

Just as the eaters were getting ready to start the event Kobayashi was carried through the crowd on the shoulders of another man. The crowd was trying to get the eaters and George Shea, the CEO of Major League Eating, to acknowledge the former champ. MLE and Kobayashi were not able to come to terms to a contract, so Kobayashi was not allowed to enter the contest.

Chestnut had assumed that the rivalry would continue, but Kobayashi never made it to the stage.

After the eating was finished Kobayashi then attempted to get to the main stage. He was seen fighting wih three New York City police and event security.

He almost made it onto the stage, but was finally taken off the platform and arrested.

Meanwhile in the competition Chestnut made a strong showing but no where near the three previous performance. Without his main rival Chestnut cruised through the ten minutes winning with a mere 54 hot dogs and buns.

Tim "Eater X" Janus took second place with 45 hot dogs and buns, and Patrick "Deep Dish" Bertoletti came in thrid with 37.

The greatest competitive eaters on earth gathered on the corner of Surf and Stillwell Avenues in Coney Island at noon to compete in the hot dog eating contest. The event has been held each year since 1916, according to archives.

Last year, Joey Chestnut – the number-one-ranked eater in the world – defeated a field of 18 other eaters from around the world in front of a crowd of 35,000 fans by consuming 68 hot dogs and buns in 10 minutes.

Kobayashi of Japan had won the Mustard Belt from 2001-2006 before Chestnut topped him.

The Associated Press posted this raw video of Kobayashi's arrest.