Joey Chestnut Reclaims Belt With Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest Domination

It had been a decade since Joey Chestnut last played ketchup. On Monday, he took his Mustard Belt back.

The 32-year-old won his ninth Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest crown in ten years, devouring a record 70 frankfurters in ten minutes. Chestnut eclipsed his own record of 69 hot dogs, set in 2013.

One year ago, Matt "The Megatoad" Stonie shocked the world, upsetting then-eight-time reigning champion Chestnut, 62-60. Chestnut, however, vowed he would return with vengeance.

"I've been looking for competition for a long time and I finally have it," he said on July 4, 2015. "He made me hungry."

In 2016, Chestnut led wire-to-wire. He took down five hot dogs and buns in the first 20 seconds. One minute in, Chestnut reached 14 hot dogs. For much of the first half of the competition, Chestnut held a pace of ten to 12 hot dogs a minute, with his final score putting him at a seven-hot dogs-per-minute pace, an act never previously performed by a human being in competition. Stonie, 24, never proved a threat this year, as Chestnut had a ten hot dog-lead, 44-34, by the five-minute mark.

"Practices were going difficult this year," Stonie, who finished second with 53 hot dogs told ESPN. "No excuses. Joey brought his A-Game. I can't take that away from him."

In the final few minutes, Chestnut's goal shifted from reclaiming his belt to beating his own record. Chestnut got extra ravenous in the final 30 seconds to push him to 70 hot dogs. He reportedly absorbed 73-and-one-half franks in practice last week. Still, Stonie woke up the favorite, at +115, while Chestnut came in at -155.

"It's his fault," Chestnut says of Stonie. "He beat me last year and woke the sleeping giant."

Chestnut, who began his Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest career with a third-place finish in 2005, avoided the sizzle of retirement rumors, telling ESPN after competition that he intends to continue eating competitively. Chestnut is currently the No. 2 eater in the world, with Stonie being No. 1. According to Celebrity Net Worth, Joey "Jaws" has a net worth of $800,000.

Chestnut engulfed 19,600 calories during the competition.

Chestnut's win got the party started on Coney Island.

On the women's side, Miki Sudo won her third consecutive title with 38 hot dogs. She edged three-time champ Sonya Thomas by three and a half hot dogs. Here are the final results on both sides via Major League Eating:

Same time, next year. And from what it seems, same favorites.

More Hot Dogs:
-- All You Need To Know About Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest
-- Grilling Chicago-Style Hot Dogs With Frank Thomas
-- Matt Stonie Ends Joey Chestnut's 8-Year Reign As Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Champ