NEW YORK ( CNN ) -- Reigning hot dog-guzzling champ Joey Chestnut and nemesis Takeru Kobayashi of Japan attempted to psych each other out Thursday at the weigh-in for the 94th annual Nathan 's Famous Fourth of July International Hot Dog-Eating Contest . Competitive eaters Joey Chestnut and Takeru Kobayashi take part in an official `` staredown . '' Chestnut and Kobayashi glared long and menacingly into each other 's eyes in an official `` staredown . '' At last year 's contest , 25-year-old Chestnut , a civil engineering student at San Jose State University , eked out a win over Kobayashi , 31 , in a tiebreaker after both initially consumed 59 dogs apiece . It was Chestnut 's second slim victory over Kobayashi in as many years . Kobayashi vowed he will avenge those two defeats on Saturday . He also said he no longer suffers from the `` jawthritis '' that some cited as the culprit for his 2007 defeat , which snapped his six-year winning streak at Coney Island . Chestnut , for his part , said he had no intention of ceding the coveted mustard yellow belt -- competitive eating 's answer to golf 's green jacket . He is setting his sights this year on 68 hot dogs in 10 minutes . Saturday 's competition will be partially about redemption for Chestnut , too . In May , he suffered a stinging defeat to Kobayashi in a loss he said `` really set a fire underneath me '' and `` made me hungry for this contest . '' Chestnut revealed the extreme dietary regimen he is following in the days leading up to the contest . He said he is sticking to water to make sure he is `` empty '' when the mountain of hot dogs is placed in front of him . In addition to Chestnut , Kobayashi admitted to keeping a watchful eye on 32-year-old Tim `` Eater X '' Janus , whose signature painted face was described by Major League Eating impresario Richard Shea as an attempt to mask his `` inner torment . '' In a recent trial round , Janus downed a personal-best 55 hot dogs -- a weiner 's throw from the 59 that Chestnut and Kobayashi wolfed down last year . As a lead-in to the main event , Major League Eating on Friday will hold a first-of-its-kind `` cross-species '' eating contest between three competitive eaters and three Asian elephants . MLE 's Shea described it as the realization of one of his two lifelong dreams , the other being a scenario in which a dozen competitive eaters eat the entire contents of a convenience store . Twenty finalists will compete in the championship on Saturday . They were culled from 18 preliminary contests and comprise a Who 's Who of the world of competitive eating . For people who stuff their faces with record-breaking quantities of food , many of the contestants at the weigh-in boasted surprisingly svelte physiques . Juliet Lee , a 44-year-old Maryland salon owner fresh off the feat of downing 13.23 pounds of cranberry sauce in 8 minutes , clocked in at a mere 105 pounds . Kobayashi , at 123 pounds , lifted his T-shirt to reveal the sort of chiseled abdomen one would expect at a bodybuilding competition . Others contestants were not quite as disconcertingly trim . Fearsome world matzo ball-eating champion Eric `` Badlands '' Booker tips the scales at 400 pounds .
Reigning hot dog-guzzling champ Joey Chestnut , Takeru Kobayashi have staredown . Last year Chestnut won after a tiebreaker with Kobayashi . Kobayashi vowed to avenge defeat from last year . Chestnut : " I think he is the best in the world right now