Joey Chestnut WINS hot dog eating contest after putting eco protester in chokehold mid-bite

Legendary competitive eater Joey Chestnut was victorious on Monday after demolishing the competition at the Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest for a record-setting fifteenth time, despite having to put an animal rights protester in a chokehold mid-bite.

Joey Chestnut, 37, scarfed down 63 hotdogs in 10 minutes, a number that eviscerated the second runner up, Geoffrey Esper, by 20 hot dogs, according to New York Post.

Chestnut's record-setting win came despite the number-one-ranked competitive eater in the world having to put a disruptive animal rights protester in a chokehold during the competition.

The video has since gone viral across social media and has already garnered over 4 million views.

The protester "smack down" happened after multiple individuals wearing Star Wars masks jumped on stage, holding signs that read "Expose Smithfield's Deathstar."

One protester wearing a Darth Vader mask rushed at Chestnut as he was choking down his 17th hotdog and bun. The world champion reacted by putting him in a chokehold and slamming him to the ground with the help of another individual on stage. However, Chestnut failed to skip a beat and continued to demolish the hot dogs even as he had the protester in a chokehold, video shows.

Chestnut's dominant victory came after he arrived at Friday's weigh-in with crutches. He was forced to wear a medical boot during the 4th of July competition after suffering an injury to his tendon, the outlet reports.

The world-famous competition was held on the 4th of July at its original location for the first time since 2019, the Nathan's at Surf Avenue and Stillwell Avenue in Coney Island, Brooklyn.