Joey Chestnut is “hopeful” a resolution will be found with Nathan’s contest banned after eating a hot dog

after Being blocked Of Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest, Joey Chestnut said he is “hopeful” a resolution can be found regarding the situation.

“I’m very optimistic things can be resolved,” Chestnut told On3’s. Talia Goodman. “I’ll be ready if we can solve anything. I’ll be hungry.”

Chestnut, a 16-time contest winner, was banned from the Fourth of July contest because he signed a deal to represent Impossible Foods, a plant-based food brand and competitor to Nathan’s.

If Chestnut backs out of his deal with Impossible Foods, Nathan’s will let him participate, but it doesn’t look like that will happen — at least this year.

Meanwhile, Chestnut will still be eating hot dogs competitively this year, and against one of his biggest rivals. This September, Chestnut will face off against fellow competitor Takeru Kobayashi in a hot dog eating contest streaming exclusively on Netflix. Instead of having a field of competitors like Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest, the competition between Chestnut and Kobayashi will be one-on-one.

Without Chestnut in the competition, Nathan’s is arguably losing the biggest name in the competitive eating space and may be looking for a new face for the brand. Meanwhile, Chestnut will look to continue his dominance in eating competitions, although he will have to do so without participating in the biggest event of the year.