By Desiree Salas (media@latinospost.com) | First Posted: Jul 06, 2015 08:01 AM EDT

Defending hot dog-eating champ got stoned off his top dog position by an upstart younger and smaller than him.

"Matt 'Megatoad' Stonie shocked the competitive eating world Saturday by upsetting Joey 'Jaws'' Chestnut at the Fourth of July hot dog eating contest at Nathan's Famous in Coney Island, ending Chestnut's bid for a ninth straight victory," ESPN reported. "Stonie, 23, who finished second last year, downed 62 hot dogs and buns, beating the six-foot-tall Chestnut by two. Both are from San Jose, California."

Stonie was 7 hotdogs short of the world record, currently held by Chestnut, though.

Meanwhile, the 31-year-old former champ accepted his defeat graciously, saying also that he found real competition in the 5-foot-8 Stonie and is looking forward to battling the younger man next year.

It can be recalled that the Chestnut proposed to his girlfriend right after his victory last year, injecting more flair into the event. However, the couple's engagement did not last. They later broke up.

On that note, some may suspect the failed engagement may have affected Chestnut's performance, as Stonie had "defeated Chestnut in the past year in competitions featuring Twinkies, poutine, pumpkin pie and gyros."

Or was it just simply a matter of Stonie coming into his own and being the better eater after years in the competitive eating circuit?

For years, Stonie had an eye on beating Chestnut. He's always been trumped by the elder professional eater at various events, until Stonie began winning at a few of them, giving Chestnut a run for his money and trophy.

"Since Kobayashi came, I'm the first guy who has made contests interesting for him. He's been pushed before, but he never sweat like he's sweating now," Stonie told Rolling Stone last year.

Takeru Kobayashi, competitive eating fans will remember, is the former hot-dog eating champ that Chestnut eventually beat in 2007 and never won again since then.

"Matt could and probably will overtake Joey. There's no doubt he's gone to the next level," said Major League Eating (MLE) chairman George Shea. "From the beginning, he came at it in a way like 'I am going to beat Joey.' He's had a singular purpose, and he's executed on that. The people who can't stand losing don't."

Shea's words proved prophetic as July 4 marked the day when Stonie finally beat the reigning hot-dog eating champ at the biggest and splashiest hot-dog eating contest in the world. Will he keep reaping one victory after another from this point forward?

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