Joey 'Jaws' Chestnut takes a big bite out of Fort Bliss during 4th of July hot dog contest

In honor of America's birthday, competitive eater Joey "Jaws" Chestnut took down four of Fort Bliss' best eaters in a hot dog eating contest.

As part of Fort Bliss' annual 4th of July, "Pop goes the Fort," the base invited Chestnut to come to El Paso and compete against a team of four Fort Bliss soldiers.

Chestnut took a bite of the four soldiers by wolfing down 57 hot dogs in five minutes, while the four soldiers fell behind eating 49 hot dogs.

WATCH THE CONTEST:

I love you guys. Thank you so much, I'm so happy to be here," Chestnut said, "You guys pushed me so far, thank you so much."

Chestnut said he pushed himself today despite it being a friendly competition, as he broke his record of eating 55 hot dogs in five minutes.

When asked how he trains for these competitions, Chestnut said,

Runners have to run, fighters have to fight, eaters have to eat.

He said he prepares in cycles, he eats like in a competition, and then recovers with a high-fiber cleanse, and then when he is back down to his normal weight, he trains again.

Chestnut also told attendees he loves being a professional competitive eater saying he gets to travel, eat and meet people.

When asked what his favorite food is, Chestnut said that- aside from eating wings,

Hot dogs on the fourth of July is the best.

Fort Bliss reached out to Chestnut through social media after news came out that he was not participating in the Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Competition.

After the invitation came out, Chestnut promptly replied accepting the challenge saying,

To commemorate the event, food manufacturer Impossible Foods donated $106,000 to U.S. military nonprofit Operation Homefront which services military families.

The hot dog eating contest was preceded by a pizza eating contest.

KFOX14/CBS4 spoke with people who were thrilled to see Chestnut doing what he does best in the borderland.

"I've never seen a competitive eater before, and that was grotesque and beautiful," said one El Pasoan.

"To see [Chestnut] in person it's an experience- once in a lifetime, I guess," said another El Pasoan.

"I love watching competitive eating and Joey's the greatest of all time," said a third El Pasoan.