Doggone it.

Oh, the irony. Hot dog-eating champ Takeru Kobayashi has been diagnosed with arthritis of the jaw just in time to potentially miss next week's annual Nathan's Famous July Fourth International Hot Dog Eating Contest. Keep in mind he's pretty much kicked everyone's butts since 2001. But according to the New York Times, Kobayashi's on a flight to the States today after receiving treatment to take Coney Island by storm Wednesday against his rival Joey Chestnut (who narrowly lost to him last year but shattered Kobayashi's world record earlier this month by eating 59.5 hot dogs in 12 minutes). The man could barely open his mouth a few days ago, so let's wait and see how he fares shoving dozens of dogs in his face.