Recalling what happened on the stage, Chestnut later told the New York Post, "When he got in front of me ... I didn't know if he was gonna attack me. There was a little bit of panic, and that's why I grabbed him, and I wasn't sure — I didn't know how it was all gonna play out." Chestnut chose to put the intruder in a headlock because his hands were full, according to the champion eater. "After he got out of the way, I was thinking about my rhythm, and if I could get into eating fast, and I was able to. It didn't affect me too much. I was able to keep going," Chestnut continued. And does Chestnut have any wrestling or hand-to-hand combat experience of his own? "Just three brothers," Chestnut said (via New York Post).

Among the male competitors, Chestnut bested the field with 63 hot dogs and buns in 10 minutes. Though well off the pace for Chestnut's world record set in 2021 of 76 hot dogs and buns consumed, Chestnut's mark was ahead of his nearest competitor. In 2022, Miki Sudo (pictured) came in first among female competitors, downing 40 hot dogs and buns in that same time frame, reclaiming her eighth title since 2014, according to Yahoo! Sports. Sudo competed for the first time since taking 2021 off due to pregnancy, as CNN goes on to explain.

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