NEW YORK - He's gone from hot-dog top dog to underdog.

Renowned competitive eater Takeru Kobayashi is aiming to chomp his way back to the top of the annual Fourth of July hot dog eating competition on Coney Island after a disappointing three-dog loss last year shattered his six-year winning streak.

And setting any records this year is going to be even harder.

Organizers have shaved two minutes from regulation time after it was recently revealed that the original competition in 1916 was just 10 minutes long, instead of the 12-minute limit used in recent years.

The diminutive 30-year-old Kobayashi - a legend on the surprisingly serious competitive eating circuit - managed to scarf 63 dogs and buns in 12 minutes last year.

But that's three fewer than the winner, up-and-comer Joey Chestnut, a 24-year-old Californian who at 210 pounds outweighs him by more than 80 pounds.

It was a devastating defeat for Kobayashi, of Nagano, Japan, who had ruled the Coney Island frank fight since 2001.

Last year Kobayashi said he was suffering from some physical ailments, including a tooth problem and a sore jaw, that may have hampered his performance.

Kobayashi and Chestnut are among 21 competitors in Friday's showdown, including a pizza cook from New York City, a fishmonger from Chicago and a 110-pound mother of two from Maryland.

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