When Joey Chestnut wins the Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest next week, some will say it’s a hollow victory. Kobayashi has pulled out of the competition due to a jaw injury.

Last year, he downed almost 54 dogs in 12 minutes to set a new record, but Chestnut was right on his heels with 52 dogs. Just a few weeks ago, Chestnut shattered Kobayashi’s record with 59.5 dogs at a competition in Phoenix.

This year’s matchup would have been epic. I watched the competition last year for the first time and could not believe how much fun it was. I was so looking forward to seeing Joey take Kobayashi down, but it looks like he’ll probably cruise to the title.

Unless Fink shows up. That would be epic.